World Warriors
by Silvre Musgrave
Summary: literary, film, video game and original characters of my own are yanked out of their respective worlds and must fight in a sort of tournament...for the sake of amusement of another. Those included: Harry Potter, Dragonball Z, Halo, Batman, Wolverine...
1. Spirited Away PT 1

Chapter One: Spirited Away

Part One

The floor was hard, uncomfortable. It felt like stone, but he couldn't be sure. His head throbbed, his eyelids heavy.

Those men…who had they been? They had coe out of nowhere, out of a bright shining doorway in the air.

He'd been at Capsule Corporation for a barbeque when they had arrived. He sensed no power emanating from them, which meant that he could not tell how strong they were. He'd greeted them friendly enough, but they hadn't said a word.

And they were fast. Before he knew it, six or more darts were embedded in his neck; thin, fine-pointed things that went deep into his flesh. He'd fought them, but they made no move to do the same. Soon he was feeling dizzy and weak. His surroundings began to grow dark.

That was when Gohan, Vegeta and Piccolo had stepped in.

But one of the men threw down some kind of grenade, and a curtain of smoke erupted from it. A thick cloud quickly covered the area, and was the last thing he'd witnessed before the sedative got the better of him and everything went black.

…so where was he now? And the others? His friends, family – were they safe?

With this last thought, he forced himself to try and open his eyes. _Come on, Goku! Wake up!_

Goku's eyes opened to a stark white ceiling and his orange and blue gi suit, which was undisturbed upon him. The rest of the large, rectangular room was also white, and just as he'd guessed, the floor was made of solid stone. There were no windows, but there appeared to be two doors – one at the far end of the room (it was directly in his line of vision, and he could see it was a small secluded restroom) and one closer to where he lay on the floor.

The door near him was part of the wall, and like it was completely transparent. Through it he could see a hallway – one that was entirely empty.

Encouraged by this, Goku prepared to lift himself up. As he moved his arms to push off the floor, he realized that his hands were bound; not by rope or by iron, but by what appeared to be pure energy. It made no hum and did not crackle, but it was there just the same. The bonds were far enough apart that he could move freely enough, but were too close to do virtually anything as far as escaping went.

Just as he was wondering if he could break through the energy cords, a voice in the hall caught his attention.

"Goku's awake. Hit the switch."

As Goku turned, his arms were suddenly pulled towards the wall, by an unseen force. His body slammed against the wall; he was facing out toward the room. His bonds seemed to be magnetically attached to the wall, and strain as he might, he could not separate the two.

In the next moment, Goku received a shock. With a loud sound of a bolt being unlocked, the door swung open and more of the men entered.

Carried between them was the limp form of Trunks.

Goku gaped. This wasn't the little Trunks from his time, but the one from the future – the one who had come back to their time to warn them of the evil Androids come to destroy the world, the one who had fought beside them in the epic battle against Cell and had returned to his own time to save his own future.

"Trunks!" Goku cried. "Trunks, wake up!"

The men turned as Goku spoke, and he fixed them with a cold stare. There features and clothing were varied, though all looked of Japanese descent and dressed in the style of ninjas. Most wore masks. "Who are you?" Goku demanded. "Why are you doing this?"

But they said nothing, and ignoring his yells of question and protest, walked out of the room, shutting and bolting the door behind them.

As soon as they had gone, Goku's hands were released from the wall and he stumbled to the floor. He immediately rushed to Trunks' side and shook his shoulder gently. "Trunks?"

But the young man did not stir.

Goku looked him over; there were no wounds upon him, except several pinprick holes where Goku assumed the darts must have punctured the skin. Trunks' lavender hair fell gracefully across his face, moving very slightly with his steady breaths. He was dressed in his regular black tank-top and grey baggy pants and orange boots, but his blue Capsule Corporation jacket was gone. Like Goku, Trunks' hands were bound by energy-cords.

"Trunks?" Goku repeated, but to no avail.

He sat by his friend's side, constantly shifting his gaze from Trunks to the transparent door. After long minutes of staring at the door, a small groan tore Goku's attention away. "Trunks?"

Trunks' eyes stirred under their lids, and his head moved slightly. Very slowly, the eyelids cracked, and the bright blue eyes underneath opened to see Goku's face.

What colour remained in Trunks' face now drained out and he sat bolt upright and lurched away. "G-Goku? But you're—Am…am I dead?"

Goku grinned. "Nope! At least I'm pretty sure."

"But what're you doing here? Where is _here,_ anyway?"

"I'm not sure." Goku looked back towards the doorway. "We were having a barbeque at Capsule Corp. when those men came out of nowhere…they shot some kind of darts at me and I blacked out. I woke up here."

"Same thing happened to me – I was helping Mom with some painting and just like you said…they came out of thin air. Oh man, I hope Mom's alright…if they've done anything to her, I swear…" Trunks' blue eyes flashed dangerously and he grit his teeth. But his anger dwindled as he looked at Goku in puzzlement. "So…you're not dead then."

Goku gave a short laugh. "Nope. See, seven years after the Cell Games, there was a World Tournament and because of what I did when I fought Cell, the Kais and King Yama said that I could return for one day to fight in it. Gohan's all grown up now, Trunks, you should see him – and I have another son! His name is Goten, and he looks just like me…But this guy was there at the tournament, and he took the energy out of Gohan to wake this creature…"

And so Goku told Trunks of how the monster Buu had emerged, how he was stronger than any fighter in the Universe…how Vegeta, Trunks' father, had sacrificed himself in order to kill Buu, but even that had not been enough. He went on with the tale, how the Earth had finally been destroyed, but Vegeta and Goku had teamed up in the Other World and finally, with the help of the resurrected Earth and its people, had destroyed Buu with an almighty Spirit Bomb.

Trunks sat, and listened intently through the entire story. "Wow…" he finally said. "And my father…he sacrificed himself. I never thought he'd do something like that…."

"He's changed a lot, Trunks. He's still proud as ever, but he does love you and Bulma, that's for sure."

Trunks smiled and blinked away a tear beginning to form in one of his eyes. In his time, his father – and everyone else besides his mother -- was long dead. He'd never even met his father until he went back in time to warn them of the Androids.

"So how's life in your time, Trunks?" Goku asked, breaking his thoughts. "You took care of the Androids, right?"

"Yeah, and Cell too. I caught him just before he was going to sneak up and take my time machine back to _your_ time. They've all been dead for a few years now. We're still rebuilding and fixing up the cities."

"That's great, Trunks."

"Yeah…" Trunks gazed down at his energy-cuffs, and then lifted them in front of his face. "You think we can break out of these?"

"We can try."

Meanwhile, in another universe, in another reality….

"The _Kyr-ivnes_ sector is all clear, Blade Rider."

Carin Darkstar, alias The Blade Rider turned and nodded. "Thank you, Nightwolf. Wisp, what about the _Kyr-ari_ sector?"

"All clear."

"Great." Carin Darkstar was the leader of an organization known as the Dark Moon. Nearly every night they patrolled the streets of different planets, searching out and destroying Ihreakin – demons that wrought havoc and brought death. This was one such mission, and so far it was looking clear. "We might get home a little early tonight," she said. She turned to mount her vehicle, a slim silver motorcycle-like thing that hovered above ground. According to the Magin race, which created it, it was the fastest thing without wheels.

As she was just about to put her helmet on, a blinding light erupted to her left. She instinctively drew her sword, and flung her arm over her eyes to block out the light. The light was brighter than any sunlight, but it eventually dimmed and she saw it came from a rectangle, a door, in the air. Dark shapes loomed out of the brightness, and one of them raised an arm.

"Wha—_ungh!_" Several sharp pains erupted in her neck, just below her jaw line. Her hand flew there, to find three thin darts. No, this was just like before…!

One of the men said something, but she didn't catch it. It had sounded like the Earthen English language, but she wasn't sure.

"Blade Rider!" Nightwolf, her husband yelled over the noise of running footsteps and the hum of the light-door.

"R-Rek!" She gasped his true name. Whatever was in the darts was strong, and it was consuming her quickly. Her legs buckled beneath her.

Faintly she heard a command from one of the men, and a furious cry from Rek. She was in someone's arms now, but not her husband's. She was moving towards the bright light, but what lay beyond it, she never saw.

Goku rubbed his hands together, trying to rid the feeling of the electric shock. The door had been booby-trapped…how could he have known?

"Are you okay? That was a nasty shock." Trunks said.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've had worse."

Trunks let out a short laugh. "Yeah, I know…well, I guess we're gonna be here awhile. Do you think it's just the two of us? No one else has arrived yet—" Trunks' voice was cut off by another, coming from outside in the hall.

"Come on, hit the switch."

"I'm going, I'm going – _HOLY—_"

"_She's awake!"_

Suddenly one of the men – blond-haired with sunglasses and dressed in blue and black fighting pants – smashed into the transparent wall so hard that his glasses cracked.

Then a woman, with short cropped brown hair and dressed in black came into view. She looked as if she were slightly disoriented, for she shook her head several times as if trying to clear her head. Her hands were bound in energy-cuffs. Despite her state and the manacles, she took up a fighting stance. _"Ryul eb aia?"_ she asked. Goku and Trunks did not understand her language, and apparently neither did the other men.

A man in a blue ninja suit ran at her, but she was quick and side-stepped his attack, turning to kick him as he passed, sending him reeling.

"_Jau ta d'ju?" _She yelled, turning to the other men and taking a stance once more. _"Rixlo kai d'ju clar?"_

"RUN!" Goku yelled.

The woman paused only for an instant to look at him, and an instant was all it took.

A man, (nearly identical to the man in blue, but dressed in yellow) lunged forward. "GET OVER HERE!" a long cord with a spike on the end flew from his wrist and wrapped around the woman, pulling her towards him. "Hit the switch!" he growled.

Trunks and Goku flew towards the walls, where their bonds connected with the stone and stuck.

The man in blue unlocked the door and the man in yellow flung the woman inside, at the same time releasing her from the spiked cord. The man with the broken sunglasses scowled at her through the wall.

She fell to the ground, dizzy, but quickly regained her composure and ran for the door.

"Wait! Stop!" Trunks cried.

The door closed, and as the woman ran into it, strings of electricity ran up the door and over her body. She cried out in pain, but could not free herself from the door.

The next moment, Goku and Trunks were released from the wall and they rushed to her side and yanked her away from the electricity-laden door. The men were now gone from sight.

"Oh man," Trunks said, running his fingers through his hair in concern. "She's burned badly. We need some bandages or something…"

"I'll go check the bathroom," Goku said, and ran off. He returned a few moments later, looking frustrated and worried. "No luck," he said. "How's she doing?"

"Still passed out. Her hands are bleeding…"

"Geez…maybe I can tear some of my suit up to make some bandages…"

"Yeah – wait! Look!" Trunks pointed behind Goku, and he turned.

Lying behind him, near the door, were a small bowl and a pile of bandages. Goku's eyes narrowed. "Where did those come from?"

"I don't know…I didn't see anybody come in."

"Me either…" Goku got up and went over to the bandages and bowl. He touched them – they were real enough. He hurried and filled the bowl with the water from the bathroom and he and Trunks cleaned and fixed the bandages around the woman's hands. Curiously, they looked as if they were already healing.

After many anxious minutes, the woman woke. Her eyes snapped open and they were a clear, vibrant grey-hazel. She sat up and then gasped, for she had set her hands hard on the floor. She held them in front of her face, studying the damage, then looked to Goku and Trunks. Her eyes immediately went to their cuffs, and then flicked around the room, where they stopped on the doors and the walls.

Goku watched her. This woman was no fool, and wasn't new to this kind of business. She was studying the room, looking for exits, cameras, anything that could aid her or be of importance.

Her eyes finally settled on the two of them. _"Rixlo d'ju rigal Jovian?"_ she asked slowly.

Trunks and Goku looked at each other. "My name is Son Goku," he said clearly. "Do you speak English?" He could see that she was taking in every word and thinking rapidly.

"I can," she responded. "Forgive me if my speech isn't correct. It is not my first language."

Goku smiled. "You're English is fine. Um…like I said, I am Son Goku and this is Trunks Briefs."

The woman looked into his eyes intensely, and Goku stared straight back. At last she lowered her eyes and bowed her head to him. "Forgive me for staring; I had to see if I could trust you. My name is Carin Vekina Darkstar. I am also known as The Blade Rider by many of my foes." She stopped for a moment to study the energy bonds circling her hands.

"We've already tried to break out of them."

"And judging by your appearances, you're both quite strong." Carin said. She looked out towards the door, then back at Goku and Trunks. "So where are we? Who were those men?"

"We don't know," Trunks said. "We were drugged and woke up here, just like you. But your sedative must have not been as strong."

"No, I simply heal at a fast rate…but you've found no clue as to who they might be? You've never seen these men before?"

Trunks shook his head.

"Never," Goku said.

Carin shook her head. "It doesn't make any sense…I've never seen these men either…who wants us here, and why?"

"I wish we could tell you, Ms. Dar—"

"Mrs. And you may call me Carin. I've never been much on formalities."

"Oh, Carin then. I'm sorry; we don't know any more than you do."

"It's alright," Carin said, and with some difficulty stood up. The other two did the same. "Have you searched the room? For cameras, secret doors…have you knocked against the walls to see if they're hollow?" she looked all around the room, and her eyes fixed on the ceiling. It looked slightly different than the rest of the room…thinner, somehow.

"We checked everything. We can't break through the walls. Under normal circumstances, I think we'd be able to, but there's something about this room. We can't even create ki blasts."

"Magic." Carin said matter-of-factly. There was a magical pressure in the room…invisible and unnoticeable unless you knew what to look for. She sighed and shook her head. Goku had said _ki blasts_. She wondered if they were the same as shai blasts…energy balls. She turned to them. "So…you speak English, and yet you are not Human."

Trunks looked slightly taken aback. "How can you tell?"

"I've been around enough Humans to sense what their presence feels like, and you are not Human. Neither of you…although you, young one, are at least partially so." She said to Trunks. "But you are very strong."

"Well, you're exactly right. We're not Human – well, Trunks is half Human. But he's half Saiyan…and I'm completely Saiyan," Goku said.

"I have never heard of that race," Carin replied.

"The planet was destroyed a long time ago. There's only a few of us left."

"I see."

"Are you Human?" Trunks asked.

Carin shook her head. "Only partially. I was once a mix of Human, Elven, Magin and Kema blood, but…but I was spliced with the DNA of many different races by a group of scientists known as Z.I.M.G.R.R." She paused and Goku thought he saw her shiver slightly. "They were mad, those scientists. They took orphans and abandoned beings and spliced them for the sake of experimentation….when I was abducted by them, they shot me with darts similar to the ones we were all drugged with….I thought I was being captured again. But I guess I—"

Suddenly her ear caught a noise, and she turned. A heavy _click_ sounded, and in the same moment, her arms were yanked behind her, and she went flying against the nearest wall. Goku and Trunks were beside her, their energy-bonds attached to the wall.

Goku was used to this by now, and told Carin not to struggle.

They fixed their eyes on the hallway and door, and Carin suppressed a gasp.

A gigantic, four-armed creature made his way in the door, carrying two unconscious men. The creature was all muscle, with gold manacles on each of his four wrists and black hair tied in a top-knot on his head. He placed the men on the floor, and then turned to leave.

"Wait!"

The creature stopped and turned to stare with blood-red eyes at Goku. He said nothing.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

The creature grunted, but otherwise ignored Goku's comment and made his way out the door.

As soon as Carin, Goku and Trunks were released, they ran to inspect the newcomers.

Both were muscular, with short black hair (a curl hung over the forehead of one of them). Though upon closer inspection both appeared to be the same age, one of them looked older in the face…it was a face that had seen many hardships, pain, and sorrows. He was dressed in a dark black and grey suit; on the chest there was the emblem of a bat. From the look of the suit, it appeared that a mask or helmet had connected to the neck piece, but it was missing. There was also space for a belt, but it too was gone.

Carin suddenly realized that her own belt, overcoat and sword were missing, and she held back a snarl of anger.

The other man was younger in the face, and dressed in a colourful red, blue and yellow suit with a red cape. On his chest there was a pentagonal shape in which a large "S" was printed.

Carin knelt next to him and shook his shoulder; Trunks and Goku attempted to wake up the other man. As Carin looked her charge over, she saw that the holes in his neck looked bigger than the ones in the man in black's neck. When she looked closer, she discovered a shard of something green and glowing still lingering in one of the holes.

Very carefully, she picked it up in her fingers. It was a small piece of crystal of some kind. This was not a piece of one of the darts that had hit her. She looked back down at the man, and said, "Look." The man's eyelids were moving rapidly under their lids, and soon they opened.

His eyes went to her, and then to the small shard in her fingers. His face darkened at the sight of it, and small as it was, Carin knew it had caused him pain. "Trunks?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you please put this down the sink or the toilet? We need to get rid of it." She carefully placed the shard in his hand, and Trunks went to dispose of it.

"What is your name?" she asked the man.

"Most people call me Superman."


	2. Spirited Away PT 2

Chapter One: Spirited Away

Part Two

His name was Kal-El, otherwise known as Clark Kent. When he had fully recovered, Superman told them how he, too, had been ambushed by the ninjas along with his comrade, whom he called Batman.

"He's not going to be happy when he wakes up and realizes his belt and mask are gone," Superman said, glancing at him.

"Mask? Then his identity is supposed to be kept secret." Carin deduced.

Superman nodded.

"Then I hope we're not being watched." She turned her eyes towards the ceiling.

Superman did too, and narrowed his eyes as if he were trying to see through it. His mouth hardened into a frown. "Lead paneling…" he said quietly. He glanced back at them. Seeing Goku's confused expression, he explained, "I have x-ray vision. I can normally see through walls…lead is the only material I can't penetrate."

"Whoever planned this thought everything out…." Trunks said grimly. "Energy cuffs, because they knew we'd be strong enough to break out of normal ones…magic so we can't create ki blasts…and now lead paneling so you can't see through the walls. I wonder what else they've thought of, and for what reason…" he gazed around the room.

"I assume you've tried to escape," a new gravelly deep voice said.

"Batman!" Superman knelt at his comrade's side. "Are you—"

"Fine. I've been listening. Sounds like they've got everything covered."

"To answer your question, _rii_, we—"

"'_rii'?" _Batman interrupted.

Carin frowned in confusion. "Er…it means…I suppose the word "sir" is the closet translation."

"And you are?"

"Carin Vekina Darkstar," she replied, bowing slightly. "This is Son Goku and Trunks Briefs."

"Hi." Goku smiled and raised a manacled hand.

Batman inclined his head to them, then turned back to Carin. "You were answering my question, Ms. Darkstar."

"Mrs. We tried to think of routes of escape, but there are none." Carin watched Batman's blue eyes scan the room as she spoke; they took in every last detail. This man knew the ropes, and knew them well. From his expression, he had been in situations like this numerous times, and knew exactly what to look for. "There are no cameras, no speakers," Carin continued. "There are two doors – one leads to a bathroom, where there are no possible means of escape, and nothing that could be used as a weapon."

At this word, Batman glanced down at his waist. He swore, then clenched his fists and got to his feet, refusing any help. "The other door?" he asked gruffly.

"We don't really know where it goes," Goku admitted, "But the ninjas come in through that door, usually to bring someone new in. Don't touch it—it's booby trapped with electricity."

"'Ninjas'?" Batman echoed.

"The men who brought you here."

"And we're the 'someone new'."

"Yeah. I was the first one here," Goku said, "then Trunks and Carin, then you two."

"What are they gathering us together for?" Superman wondered aloud. "Do we have any connection to each other? Where are you all from?"

"I am from the Alvarunus Universe; I usually reside on the planet Layor. It's quite a distance from Earth."

"I'm originally from the planet Vegeta, but I was shipped off to Earth when I was a baby, and the planet Vegeta was destroyed."

"I've lived on Earth all my life," Trunks said. "But if you're from Earth too, it's probably not the same one we're from. I think you would have heard of us."

Goku nodded. "Yeah…we're not like other Humans."

Superman opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly turned towards the hallway door instead. "Footsteps. Someone's coming."

"Get against the walls," Carin said, walking fast towards one. "Quickly, unless you want to get thrown against them."

"What are you—"

"Just do what the lady says, Kal." Batman said.

And no sooner had they all lined up against the walls than their arms flew above their heads as the energy cuffs stuck against the lead paneling.

The transparent door slid open as the man in yellow and the blond haired man entered, carrying another man between them.

The newcomer, they could see, was not old, but battle worn. His hair was brown, and looked as if it may have been long at one time but was now cropped into a sort of military haircut. He wore a uniform that looked definitely Earthen; green, with four stars on each shoulder and a patch over one pocket that read "Connor."

After the ninja-men had laid him on the floor, they turned to leave. The one in yellow reached and passed through the doorway, but the blond haired man fell back, and made his way toward Carin.

She recognized him as the man she had smashed against the glass wall when she had first arrived. He had had sunglasses then.

He reached for her and grabbed her neck line, pulling her towards him.

"Let her go!"

"Leave her alone!"

Goku and Trunks yelled at the man, but he took no notice.

Carin swung one of her legs up to kick him, but he caught her ankle. "You broke my shades," the man spat. He released her shirt and reared his fist back. "Those were four hundred dollar sunglasses, you—"

"Enough." A quiet male voice commanded.

The blow never came, and Carin's foot was released hastily.

A young man stood holding the blond haired man's wrist. With a casual turn of his hand, the young man sent the ninja flying across the room, where he slid against one of the walls.

The man in yellow came tearing back into view at the noise, but came to a stop at the doorway.

The young man turned coolly towards him. "You could do better to keep your men under control, Scorpion."

"It will not happen again," Scorpion promised in a deep scratchy voice, bowing. He turned to the blond-haired man. "Johnny Cage," he snarled, "Get _up_ and GET OVER HERE!" With the last words, he flung out his arm, and once again a rope with a barbed end flew from his wrist to coil tightly around Johnny Cage, who had only just stumbled to his feet. Scorpion yanked his arm back and Cage was swept off his feet toward him.

Scorpion's yellow eyes flashed angrily, and with Cage in tow, he left the room.

The young man watched them go, his face the very picture of indifference, then turned to Carin. He could not be more than twenty – in fact, he was most likely younger. His hair was the green-brownish colour of seaweed, and fell to his chin. His eyes, which were a brighter shade of the same colour, were framed by his bangs, which fell just short of his eyebrows. He was dressed in a simple blue suit with a white top, and wore sandals on his feet. "Are you alright, Mrs. Darkstar?" he asked.

"I—Yes, thank you." She was quite lost for words, which was not something that happened often. This boy had appeared literally out of nowhere.

"Why are we here?" Batman questioned when Carin did not speak.

The young man's eyes flicked towards him. "That I cannot say yet, Dark Knight. But all will be revealed in due time, I assure you."

"That's not good enough—"

"I see you found the cloths," the boy observed, ignoring Batman and pointing to Carin's bandaged hands. "I hope they are healing well."

"You left those!" Trunks exclaimed.

The boy nodded. "I did."

A small groan broke the momentary silence. The young man turned to look at the newcomer on the floor. "I must leave you now," he said, and began to walk towards the opposite wall.

"Wait!" Carin cried, and he halted. "Who are you?"

"All in due time," he repeated. As he reached the wall, he did not slow or stop, but continued _through_ it, and was gone.

They were instantly freed of the wall, and while Carin and Goku ran to the wall the young man had just phased through, the others examined the new arrival.

But the wall was solid, and they could make no sense of the boy's arrival or departure.

Meanwhile….

"They're everywhere!"

"I _KNOW!_" the Marine roared. He aimed a punch at the B.O.B. as he ran by, swinging his shotgun into his other hand. The B.O.B. slammed into the wall with the full impact of the punch. The Marine shook his head as he left the battered B.O.B. behind. He really _shouldn't_ punish them, he knew. The Born On Board crew, otherwise known as B.O.B.s, had had their ship, the United Earth Space Council's _Marathon_ overtaken by the P'fhor, a race of Alien slave traders…which he, the Marine, had been called in to fight against. The B.O.B.s were basically defenseless.

And they never refrained from telling him that "they were everywhere!" He KNEW they were everywhere!

Still running, he shifted his shotgun back into his right hand and checked his ammunition. The WSTE-M Combat shotgun had plenty of shots left.

He glanced down at his thighs to make sure both of his .44 magnums were still strapped there, and cocked the shotgun. From the reading on his helmet visor's radar, there were P'fhor right around the next corner.

He pressed himself against the wall and edged along the side in order to get a glimpse inside the room. He ducked his head inside the doorway just long enough to see what kind of P'fhor he was dealing with, and ducked right back out.

It was a Juggernaut.

This gigantic hovering P'fhor was robotic and armed with two sets of rocket launchers and machine guns.

There were several ways to kill a Juggernaut, but the other ways involved getting closer to the P'fhor than he wanted. Shoving the shotgun back into its holster, he reached behind him and from the magnetic plate on the back of his Mjolnir mark-v armour, dislodged the SPNKR-X18 SSM Rocket Launcher.

He quickly loaded it, made it ready to fire, and passed inside the doorway once more. From his rocket launcher he fired several shots, straight into the three eyes of the P'fhor Juggernaut.

He dropped to the floor as the Juggernaut's own rockets exploded overhead, then looked up to see the damage he had caused his foe.

Sure enough, it had slowed in its constant hovering. He hesitated for another moment, waiting.

And there it was: the monotonous, droning _beep_ of a self-destructing Juggernaut.

When a Juggernaut was damaged beyond repair, it self-destructed, hoping to engulf its enemy in its explosion. The beeping was to warn off fellow P'fhor.

Fortunately, it also warned the Marine.

Sizing up the space between the ground and the slowly sinking Juggernaut, the Marine jumped to his feet and as he raced out the door, made a few swift calculations. The blast would come in…eight seconds.

He swung the SSM-launcher onto his back as he flew down the hall, gathering speed at every turn.

_Seven…six…_

He nearly collided with a screaming B.O.B., but grabbed the crewman's shirt and flung him through a nearby doorway.

_Five…four…_

The blast would be heard all around the ship, and the impact would be felt in the surrounding areas.

_Three…two…_

He made one last turn and threw himself down on the floor.

_One._

A resounding crash shook the room, and blinding white light flooded his vision. He squinted; the light didn't last long.

But just as he was getting to his feet, another, equally bright light exploded in front of him. He instinctively flinched, waiting for the simultaneous crash, but it never came.

Instead, he felt someone rip off his helmet and several sharp piercings in his neck. He reached for his shotgun, but suddenly felt sick and disoriented. To make matters worse, his vision was blurring.

As someone came near him, he swung out with his brass-knuckled left fist. He caught the stranger unaware, and he went down.

Something heavy hit the back of his head, and he sank to the floor. As his vision darkened, he saw several people above him. He didn't recognize any of them, but one thing was certain.

They weren't P'fhor.

"My name is Connor. John Connor, Colonel/Tech-Com, DN38417." The newcomer reported when he awoke. "Who am I addressing? Where am I?"

"We don't know any more than you, John," Goku said. "I'm sorry. We were brought here the same as you. I'm Son Goku," he added, reaching to shake a manacled hand.

"I'm Trunks Briefs."

"Superman."

"Batman."

Goku waited for Carin's voice, but it didn't come.

She was standing near the transparent wall, looking out through it, deep in thought.

"Carin?" Goku asked.

Carin stirred and turned to face them, glancing at Goku questioningly.

"This is Colonel John Connor," he said.

"Carin Darkstar." She bowed her head; he, from his seated position, nodded back.

Batman studied her. She was distracted; she had been ever since the mysterious boy had disappeared through the wall. However, her distraction seemed to dissipate for the time being. "You are Human, I assume." she said.

"What?" John asked, startled. "Yes…of course…" He eyed Superman, and glanced at Goku's gravity-defying spiky hair. "Of course I am….aren't you?"

"Only partially. Only Batman here is completely Human; the others are not." Carin turned briefly to stare him in the face. Her glance ignored his astonishment, but took in his haggard, young face, his tired, sharp eyes. She didn't know how many times she'd seen that look before. "You've seen war," she observed.

John sighed and lowered his eyes. "You don't know the half of it," he murmured. He raised his hands to run his fingers through his hair, but gave up the action upon seeing the energy-cuffs. He looked back at Carin, who was still staring at him. Her gaze was unnerving.

She seemed to sense this, and turned away.

Goku watched as Carin walked to the nearest wall and after a moment, rested her forehead against it.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

To his surprise, she quietly laughed. "Goku, are you married?"

Goku felt himself blush. "Erm-yes, why?"

"My husband is always asking if I'm alright." She lifted her head. "You just reminded me of him. What is your wife's name?"

"Chi-Chi," he answered. He felt a sudden pang in his heart as he spoke her name.

Carin nodded and smiled. But the smile soon disappeared. "Why are we here? Why us? What is so special about we few?" She turned to the rest of them. "Do you have enemies?"

"Everyone has enemies," Batman said darkly.

"Can you think of anyone who has command of…what did you call them? Ninjas?"

"Ninjas?" John Connor asked, bewildered.

"The men who attacked you and brought you here. You don't remember them?"

"No—they got me from behind. I thought it might have been one of the—" He stopped himself.

"One of the what?" Superman asked.

John hesitated for a moment, looking carefully at each of them in turn, then said, "One of the machines. One of the Terminators."

"Terminators?" Batman echoed.

"I take it you're not from the same planet I am either."

"We're from Earth like you – but you're living in an alternate reality to ours."

"This is deep…." John shook his head in disbelief.

"But go on." Carin said. "The Terminators?"

"Terminators…in…in my world, the machines have gotten smart. They've taken over. They've created cybernetic organisms to kill the Humans: Terminators. The 600 series had rubber skin. We could spot them a mile away. But the T-800s are new. Hard to identify. They look Human…sweat, blood, bad breath…."

Trunks had been pacing throughout John's explanation, but now froze and exchanged looks with Goku.

John noticed. "What? What is it?"

"That sounds like my world," said Trunks. "At least the way it used to be…when I was a baby, two killer Androids created by the scientist Dr. Gero were unleashed. First they killed their creator, then set out to kill everyone else." Trunks turned away, an undercurrent of anger making his voice tremble. "They killed all the fighters that could have stopped them if they had had time to prepare…my father was killed and finally…and finally my master and best friend, Gohan…Goku's son." He nodded towards Goku.

"You two lived." John said.

"No," Trunks said, and John's eyes widened. Carin turned in surprise.

"What?"

"Goku died before he got a chance to even see the Androids." Trunks gestured to himself. "I'm from an alternate future than Goku. I went back to _his_ time to warn them about the Androids."

"So in my time, we had time to prepare," Goku said.

"And you defeated the Androids." Carin surmised.

Goku paused, then nodded slowly. "It's a bit more complicated than that, but in the end, yes, we won."

"And I went back to my time and defeated the Androids there, also. I was able to destroy them because when I went into the past, I was able to become more powerful." Trunks finished.

"I can't wait for the day we destroy the machines," said John Connor. "It'll be a great day for the Resistance. I've lost a lot of friends and good soldiers to the Terminators."

"I'm sorry. I know how that feels."

"So do I," Carin whispered, turning back to the transparent wall.

"You've lost loved ones," Batman said. His voice had a familiar, harsh edge.

"So have you," Carin realized, turning. Her own voice often had that edge when she spoke of her past.

Superman glanced at Batman as he paused, then spoke. "I…My parents were gunned down by a mugger when I was a child."

"My parents were murdered before me when I was eight," Carin said softly, dropping her eyes to the floor.

"I never knew my real parents," Goku said, slumping against one of the walls.

"Looks like we're all in the same boat," John said.

"So it would seem."

Over the next hour or two that Goku, Trunks, Carin, Superman, Batman and John sat talking, two more arrivals were brought in by the ninjas. The first arrival was a woman. She was Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, formerly of the USCSS spaceship _Nostromo_. The second was a marine. He was very quiet and was trained to be more or less a weapon of war. The first thing he did when he awoke was to roll into a crouch, reaching for weapons, then balling his hands into fists when he realized his weapons were gone. He didn't speak to them at all, and hid his dog tags under his green tank top so they could not identify him.

He finally did speak, but only when a third person arrived. It was another marine.

He was slowly coming to. He felt someone shake his shoulder roughly. "Come on, soldier." A deep voice said. It sounded a million miles away. "Shake it off, marine!" The voice sounded closer now. It was as if he were rising from a deep pool of water to the surface. Everything was sounding clearer, looking brighter. His eyes flew open, then shut again quickly on account of the bright light. He opened them more slowly the second time around, and saw a blurry shape above him.

He blinked a few times until his vision cleared. Kneeling over him was another marine, tall and dark-haired. He was ghostly pale, with a sort of permanent blank, sorrowful expression, and looked extremely familiar.

For a few moments, he could not work out where he knew the man. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. "You're the Master Chief!"


	3. Spirited Away PT 3

Chapter One: Spirited Away

Part Three

"Master Chief, also known as John, Spartan-117 or just Chief. Born 2511…." The soldier surveyed him with a deep, but indiscernible look in his eyes.

Master Chief was bewildered, but did not let it show in his expression. "On your feet, marine. How do you know who I am? Who are you?"

As the marine stood, Master Chief could not help but notice how familiar he looked. His dark hair, dark eyes and scar-covered face were like his own…like so many other marines. He was just as tall but thinner than the Chief, not quite as pale, dressed in a t-shirt instead of a tank. He tried to catch a glimpse of the soldier's dog tags, but they were hidden under his shirt.

"Report," Master Chief commanded.

"I'm stationed on the U.E.S.C. _Marathon_," he started.

"The _Marathon?_ We haven't stationed any soldiers on that craft."

"In your time, Chief. I'm from the year 2797."

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, then asked, "How do you know me?"

"I'm…we were taught about you in the core. Standard history."

"What's your rank? What should I call you?"

A ghost of smile flickered across the soldier's face. "We're equal in rank, I imagine, but you can call me the Marine. Everyone does."

Carin, Goku and the others watched the conversation in fascination. The "Master Chief" had not uttered a single word in the hour or so he had been with them, but was now speaking at ease with his fellow marine.

Carin looked around the room. Was that the connection? Military personnel? _She_ was in the Shadow Force Army of Sinalta in addition to being the head of the Dark Moon; John Connor was a colonel, and the new arrival Ellen Ripley was a lieutenant. With the two marines, that made five.

She dismissed the idea; the others were in no kind of military position. But there had to be some kind of connection…. She turned her attention back to the Marine and Master Chief, and the similarity between them, even in their voices, struck her. But they were both marines, both from the same world.

The Marine had lowered his voice. "Where are we?" he asked the Chief.

"Don't know."

"And them? Who are they?"

"You can ask us directly," a voice said, and the Marine looked up.

"Super-sensitive hearing," Superman said, gesturing to one ear.

"Sorry sir," the Marine nodded at him. "You can call me the Marine."

"I'm Superman, this is Batman."

Next was the dark haired Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, followed by Colonel John Connor, and so the introductions went on. After they had all made themselves known to each other, they answered the usual questions of where and why.

"There has to be a way out," the Master Chief said minutes later.

"We've looked," Batman said dryly. "Thoroughly."

"That door?" He nodded at the transparent wall.

"Goes into the hall, obviously. It's locked." Trunks said.

"And strung with electric current," Carin added, glancing at her hands.

If he was disappointed or angered, the Master Chief didn't let it show. All his face held was a stolid, unchanging expression. "And we have no idea who's doing this."

"No," Superman said. "We all have enemies, but we can't think of a single person who has the power to take us from our different universes and times to bring us here."

"Any ideas?" Goku asked.

The Chief shook his head.

"There might be one person…" the Marine began, and everyone turned his way in surprise. "He's not a person per say, but he may have been able to transport us here. He's transported me from level to level on the _Marathon_ and he's transferred himself into all of the _Marathon's_ systems. He's powerful."

"Who is it?"

"He calls himself Durandal."

"What's the deal, is he an alien?" Goku asked.

"No. He's an Artificial Intelligence Construct." The Marine made to cross his arms, but stopped when he remembered the energy-cuffs, and continued. "In the year 2794, I intercepted a distress signal from the _Marathon._ They were being overtaken by a race of intergalactic slave traders called the P'fhor. So I did my duty and answered the call. On board the _Marathon_ were two A.I.s…plus my own, which linked into the system. They were Durandal and Tycho; mine was Leela."

At this last name, Master Chief heard a near-undetectable note of regret in the Marine's voice. He suddenly felt a similar stab. Since his armor was gone, so was Cortana, the A.I. that had been with him from the beginning. She would be able to tell him what was happening. She would know.

"…Durandal went rampant," the Marine was saying. "It was crazy…Durandal started taking control. Tycho sided with the P'fhor, and Leela…Leela disappeared. The only terminals – computer interfaces in the _Marathon –_ I started seeing were from Durandal. That was my first clue that Leela was gone….She must have been captured." He paused, but only for a moment, then continued.

In that moment, Master Chief again felt that emotion of regret emanating from the Marine, and it only caused his own to become stronger.

"Soon, Durandal had the entire _Marathon_ under his control. And that's the way it's been…for three years so far."

"How can we defeat him?" Goku asked.

"I don't know. I'm not even sure it's him. It's just a thought."

"They're coming." Superman said suddenly.

"What? Who?" the Marine asked.

"The Ninjas -- the men who brought us here. Up against the walls, quick."

They filed against the sides, and, like so many times before, their arms were stretched above them as the energy-cuffs linked themselves to the lead-paneled walls.

The man in yellow – Scorpion – came in first. He held open the door, and the same monstrous being that had carried in Batman and Superman hours earlier made his way into the room.

Under one of his four arms, he carried a man dressed in a red, white and blue uniform. He wore a blue mask with a white "A" on the forehead, and on his chest was the emblem of a star. The lower half of his face that showed and the uniform were dirty and looked as if he had recently been in battle.

The four-armed monster deposited the man on the floor and left as quickly as he had come. But Scorpion remained at the doorway, looking down the hall at something they could not see.

"Hey! Scorpion, right?" Goku called to him.

The ninja's eyes flicked to him for a second, but otherwise did not acknowledge that the Saiyan had spoken.

"What are we doing here? What do you want?"

"If he'd come over here, I could convince him to talk," Batman growled.

Superman glanced at Batman in concern. He knew how the Dark Knight could threaten someone to make them tell whatever he wanted them to. It wasn't pretty.

"Hey! We're talking to you!" Ripley shouted. "The least you can do is look—"

"CAGE! SUBZERO!" Scorpion barked suddenly, cutting Ripley off. "Get your lazy carcasses over here!"

Johnny Cage and the ninja in blue that resembled Scorpion came into view, carrying yet another man between them.

The man was muscular, but short and stocky and was dressed in a blue and gold suit, complete with gloves and knee-high boots. His bushy hair curled upwards on either side of his head like horns; he also looked as if he hadn't shaved in a few days, and the bare parts of his arms were hairy. The most curious thing about him was the way he was bound.

The energy-cuffs were not only connected to his wrists, but to his neck as well, so that his knuckles rested under the base of his chin.

"Hurry, before this one wakes," Scorpion commanded.

Just as Johnny Cage and Subzero began to lower the newcomer to the ground, he came to snarling life.

With a powerful backward thrust of the head, the man crushed his skull against Subzero's forehead. One would think that he had been hurt as much as the ninja, but it was not so.

A horrible crunch sounded when he made the action, and Subzero fell, bleeding. The man, meanwhile, was unphased.

Johnny Cage had let go in surprise, but now attacked the new arrival head-on.

The man dodged the first few blows, but Cage finally landed a punch square in the jaw.

But there was a crackling of bone as Cage's fist made contact, and he howled in pain and fell back to nurse his hand, which was now clearly broken.

The newcomer now turned to Scorpion, snarling.

In response, the ninja reached for the bottom of his own chin. To everyone's horror he began to pull away not only the mask, but the _flesh_ underneath, revealing white bone.

Before he could continue this grotesque action however, there was a confusion of movement.

Another ninja, dressed in black blue and white and wearing a conical straw Chinese hat appeared out of thin air, first beside Scorpion and then behind the newcomer. He had either moved at an incredible speed or had teleported from place to place.

Before the new arrival could react, the new ninja had placed his hands on his shoulders. Blue strings of electricity ran over the man, emanating from the ninja's fingertips.

The man grit his teeth and yelled, revealing rather sharp incisors, trying to fight the pain, but could not stand it for very long. He soon fell to the ground, unconscious.

Amid the shouts, struggles and cries of the others on the wall, a commanding tenor voice rang out:

"What has happened?"

Everyone froze and turned towards the doorway. There, flanked by two tall strangely-armored men with staffs, stood a youth with wild black magenta and blonde hair. He was dressed in what looked like a blue Japanese school uniform; a chain with a gold upside-down pyramid set with the symbol of an eye hung around his neck. He surveyed the room with violet eyes. "Scorpion? Raiden?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned with," Raiden, the man in the hat said in a hollow deep voice.

The youth glanced at the unconscious form of Subzero, whose face was covered in blood, and Johnny Cage, who was gingerly holding his broken hand, then at Raiden sternly. "I'll be the judge of that."

He walked to where Subzero lay, and out of his pocket drew a curious set of cards. He closed his eyes, and his hand wavered over the cards, moving slightly this way and that way, as if he were searching for something. He finally drew out a card, and opening his eyes looked at it, and nodded. He placed it on the ground before him, and said, "Cure Mermaid."

The card fluttered slightly from its place on the floor, and a light began to show from the brightly coloured picture imprinted on it.

To everyone's astonishment, something began to _rise_ out of the card. A delicate, pearly hand came out, and then a pink-clothed shoulder, and finally a head. It was a young woman with flowing golden hair and finned ears. She had recently been wet; she shook her hair slightly, and droplets of water went flying. She blinked a few times, and seeing the youth in front of her, smiled and bobbed her head.

The young man nodded at Subzero, and the woman turned and bent over him, her entire torso now out of the card. Making a crooning noise that reminded Superman of a dolphin or whale, she waved her hands over Subzero's face, which slowly became clear of the blood to reveal a ugly gash in the center of his forehead.

She placed a white finger against the gash, and it began to close up until it had completely vanished.

"Cage," the youth said, and Johnny Cage stumbled over to kneel down.

The woman took his broken hand and held it for a moment, then released it.

Johnny Cage flexed his hand in wonder, and stepped away.

"Thank you," the youth said to the woman, and lending her a hand, lowered her back into the unperceivable depths of the card. With extreme care, he replaced the card back into his deck, then swung around to face Raiden. "Never harm one of them again," he said dangerously, indicating the newcomer on the ground. The eye on the gold pyramid he wore glowed briefly.

"It was necessary," Raiden said. He raised his head to reveal a set of glowing blue-white eyes.

The young man's own eyes narrowed to slits. "Do not argue with me. They are _not _to be harmed. Is that clear, Raiden? Scorpion?"

Raiden opened his mouth to disagree, but the tall armored men moved once more to either side of the youth, holding tightly to their staffs.

"Yes," he said, clenching his teeth.

"Yes," Scorpion echoed.

"Keep your men under control," the youth said and promptly left, the armored men with him.

Raiden and Subzero, supported by Scorpion and Johnny Cage, sullenly followed.

The others slid down the wall as the door closed, landing ungracefully at the bottom. Ignoring this embarrassment, they attended to the newcomers.

The man who had been electrocuted woke shortly, spouting profanities until Superman cut him off.

"That's enough. There _are_ ladies here." The Man of Steel said loudly.

The new arrival grunted, then turned to Ripley and Carin. "Sorry." He said in a gruff, raspy voice. He struggled to sit up; without use of his hands, this was not an easy feat.

"Do you need—"

"No."

Superman shook his head slightly and fell back with Batman. "Reminds me of you," he commented quietly.

Batman grunted.

At last the man was able to sit up, and he glanced around. He looked to his side, where the other new arrival lay, and did a double take. "Cap?" he whispered.

"You know him?" Ripley asked.

"Served with him when I was in the Canadian Special Forces," he replied distantly, still staring at the man next to him.

"Would you mind telling us who you are?"

"Logan," he said gruffly. "Some call me Wolverine." His tone was still distracted; he could not take his eyes off his comrade.

"And who is _he?"_

This caused Logan to finally turn their way. "You don't know who he—wait, who are you anyway? How'd I get here? I mean, I know the ninjas drugged me, but how did I get here? Where the _hell_ are we anyway?"

"We're not sure. We've been here for what," Carin glanced at Goku and Trunks, "Six, seven hours?"

Trunks nodded. "At least."

"Where are you from, Logan?" John Connor asked.

"What? Canada, originally," he replied.

"So you're from Earth." Carin said.

"Of course I—" He narrowed his eyes at her. "You tryin' to tell me you're not Human, lady?"

"Precisely."

"Neither am I," Goku said. "Or Trunks here. Or Superman."

"Superman?" Logan turned to the Man of Steel. "You a superhero, bub?"

"I guess you could call me that, yes."

Logan eyed him for a moment, then glanced at Batman. "You too? Are you guys part of a team or somethin'?"

"We both work with the Justice League of America," Superman replied.

"Justice League…never heard of it."

"I didn't expect you would; we're all from different worlds." Superman said.

Logan stared at him. "You gotta be kiddin' me."

"Sorry, no. Most of us are from Earth, but they're all different Earths."

"Parallel universes." Trunks emphasized.

"And who are you? All of you?"

"Trunks Briefs."

"Colonel John—"

He was cut off by a small groan.

Logan turned so violently that he nearly fell over. "Cap?"

The man's eyes opened. He blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the room's light.

"Cap?" Logan repeated.

Captain America slowly sat up, staring at him. "Logan?"

Logan smirked. "Good to see you, Cap."

"Haven't seen you since we made that raid on the POW camp….What's with the outfit, Logan? Why are you tied up like that? Where…where are we? Who…Oh, excuse me. Ma'am…ma'am." He titled his head at Ripley, then Carin. He looked at the rest of them. "You're soldiers," he said, indicating Master Chief, the Marine and John Connor. "Aren't you."

"Yes sir," John said, touching his brow as best he could with his cuffed hands. "I'm Colonel John Connor." He waited a moment for the marines to say something, but they did not. "…this is the Master Chief and the Marine. This is Lieutenant Ellen Ripley."

"Your uniforms…where are you from?"

"I think 'when' is the more appropriate question, Cap." Logan said.

Captain America looked at him strangely. "What?"

"What year are you from?"

"What kind of question—"

"What year, Cap?"

"1943."

"1943…" Batman repeated quietly. "That puts you in the middle of World War II."

"That's right," Captain America said, standing. "What…what year are you from?"

"1994," Logan said, struggling to stand himself.

"1994!" Captain America exclaimed, taking an involuntary step backward. "You—you should be an old man, Logan. Is this some kind of trick? A joke?"

"No joke, Cap. I'm about sixty…well, probably older. I dunno how old I am…see, I never got around to tellin' ya, Cap." Logan finally was able to stand on his feet. "I'm a mutant. Got super fast healin' abilities and regenerative powers. Been alive for a long time. Don't think I could tell ya how long."

"A mutant?" Captain America echoed.

"Yeah," Logan said, almost defensively. "And the reason that I'm tied up like this—" his eyes flicked to his chin – "Is because of my claws…years ago I was part of somethin' called the Weapon-X project…they laced my bones with adamantium." A dark scowl crossed his features. "I'd show ya, but I don't wanna kill myself."

"Adamantium…claws? Who…who did this to you, Logan?" Captain America asked, concern heavy on his features. "I'm assuming this wasn't voluntary."

"Nope, didn't volunteer. And the scientists who conducted the…_experiment_…are dead." Logan smiled crookedly. "There are some benefits to havin' Adamantium bones. Nothin' can break 'em."

"Is that why Subzero…?"

Logan turned to Ripley momentarily. "Who's that? The guy I headbutted?" When she nodded, he smirked. "Yeah, that's why. Surprised he's not dead. Or is he?"

"No."

"Pity—"

"What is adamantium, exactly?" Carin asked.

"Adamantium's probably the strongest element on Earth….well, my Earth. Maybe it doesn't exist on yours."

"I've never heard of it," Batman said.

"Neither have I," added Ripley.

"Well then, guess it's just mine…and the Cap's."

"So…these claws. They come out of your fingers?" Superman asked.

"Knuckles. Hurts every time."

"They knew how to bind you," Batman said, narrowing his eyes. "Just like the lead paneling. Makes me wonder what else they know."

There was a moment of dark silence between them all, which was broken by the rather loud gasp of Captain America. "Logan!" He seized his comrade's shoulders. "You said you were from 1994…did…did we win?"

Knowing that the Captain meant the war, Logan smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Cap. We won."

It looked as if the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders as Captain America released Logan and took a few steps backwards to lean against the wall.

He was silent, staring at the ceiling. "Thank God," he whispered. A few more moments of silence passed, then he said, "Thank you Logan, for telling me. I can bear it now. Even…even if I die, I know it won't be in vain."

Logan opened his mouth to say something in response, but Superman interrupted him.

"They're coming again."

"Again?" Trunks asked.

"Who?" Logan asked.

"Those men. They're coming back. I hear their footsteps."

Logan turned to the transparent wall where the door stood and hunched down, taking as good a fighting stance as he could. "Let 'em come. Let 'em come to the Wolverine."

"You won't be able to do anything," Batman said, moving towards one of the walls. "As long as these cuffs are on."

"Have you tried resisting them?" Master Chief asked.

"You can't," Goku said.

"Have…have you tried holding on to someone else? See if you can withstand the pull?" Ripley asked.

Goku and Trunks looked at each other. "No," Goku said. "Let's try it. It's worth a shot. Hurry!"

Trunks and Goku grasped one another's arms as best they could and Superman and Batman and both of the marines did the same.

Carin, Ripley, John Connor, Captain America and -- most painfully – Logan suddenly flew against the walls.

But the others stayed stationary – for a short while.

Carin could tell that the strain was too much, even for the Saiyans, whom she suspected were the strongest of the three pairs. They all grit teeth and held on for as long as they could stand it, but finally all six went speeding in opposite directions to be pinned against the walls.

Logan and Batman swore simultaneously as the door opened and Scorpion and the now-recovered Subzero walked through, carrying a woman between them.

She was young and beautiful, slender with long blonde hair and pale skin. She was clothed in a blue body suit which was long-sleeved but legless, like a leotard.

They laid her on the ground, her golden locks falling about her head.

As they were leaving, Scorpion turned. "I wouldn't try to resist the restraints," he said. "Especially in the way you attempted. Wouldn't want you dislocating an arm, now would we?" With a harsh cackle, he left, closing the door forcefully behind him.

They were released from the walls, and from both sides came forward to inspect the new stranger.

Logan moved his head and cracked his neck as best he could considering his bonds. "Guess that didn't work."

Trunks rolled his shoulders.

"You okay, Trunks?" Goku asked, a note of apology in his voice.

"Yeah, fine. Darn, I thought we might be able to beat it."

"If we had held on any longer, I think I might have ripped your arms off," Superman told Batman.

The Dark Knight nodded, and the ghost of a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I think so too."

Carin and Ripley knelt next to the woman and Ripley shook her shoulder gently. The woman did not stir, but continued to breathe steadily and shallowly.

The woman awoke within a half hour of her arrival. She said her name was Samus Aran, and asked if she was still on Zebes.

They all informed her of what they knew, which she was surprised to find was very little.

It appeared that she had been plucked from the midst of a battle with several dangerous organisms that she called Metroids.

"I thought they finally got me," Samus said. "I felt like I was losing energy and everything went black. And the same thing happened to you?" She looked around at them all, and they all indicated that yes, it had.

"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head. "What do they want? Why us?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Batman replied, and turned his gaze upwards.


	4. Spirited Away PT 4

Chapter One: Spirited Away

Part Four

Russia, 1999

The train started to pick up speed as it chugged along the track, its wheels churning. One of the sidecar doors clattered in the wind, its latch loose.

To this particular door a chalk-white hand flew, grasping the handle and wrenching it open. The owner of the hand flung himself inside, and once he had gained his balance, he stuck his head out the door again.

"Come, Effie!" he shouted over the roaring clatter of the train. He held tightly to the boxcar's side and stretched out a hand.

A young woman, dressed in a red spike-textured dress and large boots ran along side the car, reaching for his hand.

"Come on!" With a lunge and firm grasp, he grabbed her hand.

She was lifted easily from the ground and hauled into the boxcar, just in time. The train turned sharply, and she fell against her comrade.

But he was strong and did not budge as the train careened around the curve. She blushed slightly. "Sorry," she mumbled.

He shook his bald head and smiled at her, then sat down among some crates in the boxcar.

Effie joined him, drawing her knees to her chin and running her fingers through her golden pig-tailed hair. "How long do we have to keep running, Illia?" she asked, glancing him.

Illia, alias Necro, sat at ease among the crates, his powerful legs stretched before him; one long, muscled arm rested on one of the wooden crates. He was all-over a ghastly chalk-white, though there were various red tattoos on his shoulder and face; on in the shape of an arrow ran over his left eye. At her question, he turned towards Effie, his pupiless, irisless yellow eyes staring over his large beak-like nose. The glow in his eyes dimmed sadly. "I don't know," he said quietly in a rather high, raspy voice. "Twelve is still out there…and Gill." His expression drooped lower, and he turned his face from her. "I'm sorry you're involved in this, Effie. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Effie scooted closer to him and leaned against his side. "It's not your fault, Illia. And whatever happens…" She took one of his long-fingered hands and curled hers around it— "I know you'll be there to protect me."

He brushed his fingers along the side of her face and smiled. "Effie—"

A blinding white light struck them.

Though unable to see, Necro jumped to his feet, and grabbing Effie, shoved her behind him.

As the light began to dim, Necro distinctly saw the silhouettes of three men—three _armed_ men.

"Stay behind me, Effie!" Necro hissed, and reared back one of his arms, balling his hand into a fist. Before he could let his blow fly, three or more sharp darts whistled through the air and buried themselves deep in the bare part of his chest.

"ILLIA!" Effie screamed behind him.

He swung his arm, but it was sluggish and slow; the man nearest him dodged it easily.

He gasped as he fell to his knees and darkness came rushing in. "Get…back, Effie…" he panted. He was going numb; he could no longer feel his legs, and he could barely see -- everything was dimming.

He felt his head hit the floor of the boxcar, and faintly heard Effie scream.

The last thing he was aware of was the feeling of someone dragging him away.

"Necro…hey, Necro…wake up."

He could hear again. His feeling was also back…someone was tentatively shaking his shoulder.

"Necro?"

With a savage yell, he opened his eyes and jumped to his feet. He stumbled for a moment; his feet were linked together by some kind of energy bond; his hands were tied likewise behind him, at the elbow and wrist.

Before him, now in a grappling stance, stood a familiar young man. Behind _him_ was a crowd of people whom Necro did not know.

The young man – who could be no older than twenty-five – stood warily eyeing Necro with his cobalt-blue eyes. A thick red bandana covered his forehead and eyebrows; though it matched the tattoos under his eyes, it contrasted sharply with his wavy blond hair, thick locks of which hung on either side of his face -- the rest hung down his back in a long ponytail.

Necro's mind raced. The man before him looked familiar – who was he?

Names, faces flicked through his mind like channels on the television. He studied the youth's army-green overalls, the way the straps and front hung at his sides, leaving him bare-chested, his green fingerless gloves, his lace-up combat boots.

Suddenly the name came to him. "Alex," he said questioningly.

The young man's stance slackened. "Yes," he confirmed. "You _are_ Necro, aren't you?"

Necro nodded.

Alex fell out of his grappling stance completely and watched as Necro did the same, straightening to almost six-and-a-half feet tall. Alex marveled at his height; you'd never know he was so tall, the way he hunched over. But then again, he wasn't as tall as the two marines behind him, who stood a even taller than Necro.

Necro nodded his head at the crowd behind Alex. "And them?"

Alex glanced over his shoulder briefly. "They were all brought here too, just like you and me. But they're…." he paused for a moment and his bandana wrinkled as his forehead creased in thought. "They said they're from different universes. Most of them are from Earth…but different Earths from ours. Some others are from different planets….I'm still not clear on it all. They were explaining when you started to wake up."

Necro could almost feel his head spinning. _Different universes? Different planets? It can't be possible!_

"I told them I knew you…sort of. I thought you'd remember me." Alex laughed shortly. "You were a tough fighter."

That brought Necro's mind back to the present, and his eyes narrowed involuntarily. "Not tough enough," he said ruefully. He had been beaten by Alex in a street fighter tournament a little over a year ago.

"I'm sure you've gotten a lot stronger since then," Alex said, a slight smile on his face.

"So ya both fight for a livin' or what?"

Necro searched for the source of the voice; it was a short man, strangely bound.

"Pretty much," Alex answered, turning to face him. "Well, at least that's what I do." He glanced back at Necro, who had returned to his normal hunched position, his glowing yellow eyes narrowed.

"Enough small talk," he said angrily, his Russian accent suddenly more apparent. "Where are we? Why am I tied up like this?"

"We don't know…Necro, is it?" Superman asked, coming forward. "We don't know any more than you do…besides each other's names and a little background. Goku, Trunks and Carin have been here the longest…about eight or nine hours?"

Goku nodded. "That's about right." He surveyed the chalk-white fighter with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you tied like that?"

Batman watched the newcomer, took note of the way his head swiveled slightly to look at each of them. This was a man who had been betrayed several times over, a man who, unlike Alex, found it extremely hard to put immediate trust in someone. Batman couldn't blame him; _he_ barely knew those around him, but from their actions thus far, he was willing to give them a shot. They were strong, seemed honest, and like Superman and himself, seemed like they just to wanted to get home.

"What has happened to Effie?" Necro screamed suddenly, ignoring Goku completely. He looked around wildly.

"Who's Effie?" Samus asked, coming up beside Alex.

Alex shook his head. "Not sure. I don't…oh wait! His friend…girlfriend maybe. That's right, she was at the tournament."

"We don't know where she is! Only you were brought here!" Carin said as she watched him run around to the different areas of the room. As he neared the door, she stood in his way. He didn't know the door was guarded by electric current.

Necro took on his fighting stance as best he could, eyes blazing. "Get outta my way or I'll tear you limb from limb," he snarled.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Goku said, stepping in front of Carin.

"I warned you—"

"Necro, stop! This isn't getting us anywhere. They don't know any more than we do!" Alex yelled at him. "They—"

The room went dark.

The only light now came from the hallway and the small bathroom at the opposite end of the room.

"_It will benefit you to take some rest,"_ a voice came. They could not pinpoint where it came from, for it did not come from one area as if from a speaker, but all around them.

Carin immediately recognized it as the voice of the young man who had defended her against Johnny Cage. "Who are you?" she called.

"_In due time, Mrs. Darkstar,"_ the voice replied, and seemed to fade away.

"Hey!" Goku yelled. "Come back here!"

"Who are you?" Samus asked.

"_Where_ are you?" The Marine asked, quieter.

"_Please rest,"_ the voice came again. _"You will find blankets and pillows to your right."_

Sure enough, when they looked in that direction several pillows and neatly-folded blankets were lined against the wall.

"We ain't doin' nothin' until you give us some answers, bub!" Logan growled at the ceiling.

"Please!" Captain America yelled. "What do you want? Why are we here? Who are you?"

"_Please rest."_ The voice repeated, but despite their protests, did not speak again.

"If he thinks we're going to rest, he has another thing coming," Ripley said irritably.

"Maybe it's not such a bad idea," Carin said.

"What?!" Several of the others shouted and turned her way in surprise.

"Not all of us at the same time of course," she said calmly.

"That's right," Captain America said, nodding. "We could post sentries. Watch in shifts."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Superman agreed. "You guys could probably use some rest," he added, nodding at Goku, Trunks and Carin. "Let's put it to a vote. Who's up for watching in shifts and getting some rest?"

Everyone raised their hands except Necro, who merely grit his teeth and turned his head away, and Logan, who was unable to do so.

"Okay…so how are we going to break up the shifts?" Alex asked.

"I think that those who have been here the longest should rest first." John Connor suggested.

Samus nodded. "I think that's fair. I'll volunteer for first shift."

"I will too," Alex offered. "I don't think I could sleep if I tried anyway."

"Logan and I will stay up with you. Maybe we can fill in some details."

Necro stayed up with them as well, his yellow eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.

The Master Chief and the Marine did not sleep. They sat beside each other, silent, near those who rested.

The Chief's senses were tuned to his surroundings, ever vigilant, ever listening to the soft whispers and snores around him. His fingers itched to hold a weapon – a SMG, a magnum, anything. He felt ridiculously helpless without his armour or a weapon. He could still defend himself without either – and God help the person who tried to attack him – but if the Covenant attacked…if anyone attacked and they were armed….He didn't want to think about it.

And despite the thirteen others in the room, he felt strangely alone without the constant hum of Cortana in his head.

The Marine felt equally helpless without his own armour and weapons, but would never say so, and never let on such emotions. He was just as stolid as the Chief, just as silent, just as still. He constantly surveyed the room, his ears catching every sound, no matter how quiet. Every so often, he caught snatches of the conversation of the sentries by the doorway.

Captain America and Logan explained everything to Samus, Alex and Necro to the best of their ability. Logan related his adventure with the ninjas, and Batman, who apparently preferred the dark, told them what had occurred before Logan and the captain's arrival and after Logan had been rendered unconscious.

"So…these men. Boys, I guess you'd call them, from what you've said. Are they ninjas too?" Captain America asked.

Batman shook his head. "They look like teenagers. The first more so than the second. The second was older somehow…something about his eyes and demeanor. No, they were definitely not ninjas. They could both perform magic."

"Psh, come on." Alex grinned, but the smile dissolved as Batman fixed him with a dead-serious stare. "You're not kidding?" He turned to the others seated around him. "You don't believe that, do you?"

"I'd believe it," Logan answered.

"You would? But magic's—"

"Impossible?" Logan cut him off. "Look, hot shot. With the things _I've_ seen, there's not much I'd say's impossible."

Alex looked around at them again, then turned back to Batman. "Okay, fine. Let's just say they can do magic then. What kind of magic did they perform?"

"The first boy walked through walls—" Batman started.

"So what? I know a girl who can do the same thing." Logan interrupted, settling his back against the wall. He didn't seem to notice the look of mild aggravation on Batman's face.

"You do?" Samus asked.

"Yeah. She's…" he hesitated for a moment. "She's a mutant, like me."

Samus nodded in a way as if to say 'oh.' "So…do you know a lot of uh…mutants?"

"Yeah." Logan said shortly, and his steely eyes glinted in the light of the hallway.

Samus waited for him to say more, but he did not. He was a strange one, Logan. He'd talk freely enough, but when the subject of mutants came up, he closed himself off; he became defensive and guarded. _Like an animal,_ Samus thought. Ignoring his cold stare, she turned back to the Dark Knight. "You were saying?"

Batman continued, "Alright. Maybe the first kid's a mutant. But the second _did_ perform magic. He had some sort of magic deck of cards. He placed a card on the ground, said something, and a creature came out of the card."

"A creature came out of the card?" Alex echoed. "What do you mean? What kind of creature?"

"The card…fluttered. It glowed, and a creature _came out of the card._ There was a picture on the front—it was like the picture became living. Truth be told, the creature looked like a mermaid."

"A mermaid." Necro repeated. "Walking through walls…magic cards…." He let out a scoffing laugh. _"Chepooka."_

"Nonsense or not," Batman said, picking up on the Russian word, "It's obvious that those boys are in positions of power. The ninjas are outranked by them, and that's for certain."

"Batman?"

The Dark Knight looked up as Superman neared them. "Shift's up, if you want to rest."

"You wanted to see me, my lord?"

**"Yes. Close the door. Your men are not within the vicinity?"**

"No, sir."

**"And the nemeses? Have they all arrived?"**

"Yes, my lord."

**"And they remain ignorant of my presence?"**

"Yes, sir."

**"And are all the warriors present?"**

"Not…not yet, my lord."

**"How many more are left?"**

"Only six. Five, after Scorpion and Goro return."

**"Tell your men to hurry. I am growing impatient."**

"Yes, my lord—"

**"And when will they begin?"**

"My lord?"

**"The warriors."**

"They will begin as soon as everything is explained to them."

**"Good….good."**

Carin, Goku, Trunks, Batman and Superman made up the second shift. While the others rested, Logan dozed with his back against the wall; the Marines continued their silent watch.

"You've been really quiet, Trunks. Are you okay?" Goku asked.

Trunks threw his friend a half-hearted smile and nodded. But the nod paused and turned into a shake of the head as he said, "No." He let the back of his head fall against the wall behind him. "I'm really worried about Mom. You have Gohan, Piccolo and my father to protect your world, Goku. Mom's my whole world, and if I'm not there to protect her…."

"Hey, she'll be fine, Trunks." Goku said comfortingly. "Bulma's a tough lady. She can handle herself."

"Yeah….You're right." But the worried feeling in the pit of Trunks' stomach didn't dissolve.

"So…." Goku began, trying to think of something to say to break the gloom, "Carin."

She glanced at the Saiyan. "Goku?"

"Where were you when you got captured?"

"I was on a mission with my team."

"A mission?" Goku leaned forward. "Are you a secret agent or something?"

"Of a sort." She smiled briefly. "I hunt Ihreakin."

"What are Ihreakin?" Trunks asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Greater demons."

"You must be a tough woman. I've fought demons before. They're powerful things."

She looked over her knee at Batman. "Have you? I hope they weren't Ihreakin. I'd hate the idea of them being on Earth. I thought we'd eradicated them there."

"It wasn't an Ihreakin. Besides, we live in different universes."

"Ah, yes."

"What do they look like?" Goku asked.

"The Ihreakin? Well, there isn't one type…they're classified into roughly ten groups, based on appearance and abilities. The most common is the – what is it?" She asked, her voice dropping to a whisper, for Superman had turned his head suddenly. In the other corner of the room, the Marines slowly stood.

As Superman walked forward a few paces, there was the sound of several metallic somethings scraping against the floor. He looked down as one of them rolled to a stop at his booted feet.

His eyes widened.

It was a canister.

Just as he was about to yell, the canister hissed, and its contents were released.

"Gas!" the Man of Steel cried, covering his mouth. As the cloud from the canister quickly spread, they tried to escape it, huddling together.

"Not gas!" The Master Chief's voice cut through the haze. _"Smoke!"_

And so it was. Soon, the entire room was filled with it, so thick that Superman could barely see his hand in front of his face.

As the others were roused from their sleep, they yelled, stumbling around, trying to locate one another.

There were others moving around in the cloudy greyness – strangers, possibly the ninjas. There was a loud thudding sound at one point, as if something heavy were being set down, then a pattering of quiet, retreating footsteps.

"Is everyone still here?" Ripley shouted.

"Sound off!" Captain America ordered, and one by one they called out their names.

Carin counted them as they shouted, as she knew others in the room were doing.

John Connor waved his manacled hands in front of him, trying to clear the smoke. He heard Alex sound off near him, and opened his mouth to do the same. "Connor present—_OW!_"

"Connor?" Captain America's voice came. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, Captain," he returned, rubbing his shoulder as far as he could reach with his bound hands, "But I walked into something solid!"

"Walked into something?"

"Yes," John said, and felt into the fog directly in front of him. Definitely solid. Felt like… "Stone?"

"Connor?"

"It feels like stone!"

"Stone? Alright, Connor. Stay where you are, we're coming to you."

Although as a colonel John technically outranked the Captain's position, he didn't argue. Who could argue with a superhero? So he continued to try and figure out what the mysterious stone thing in front of him was. As he ran his fingers over it, he found that it was warm – it held the same kind of warmth a stone did after being in the sun for hours.

The smoke was slowly dissolving, and he could just see the outlines of his comrades coming near.

In a minute they reached him, and as the haze faded around them, they received their first look at the stone thing before them.

It was a statue. And not any statue –

"It's a gargoyle!" Captain America said wonderingly. "Looks like it came right off Notre Dame's roof."

"Notre Dame?"

"A cathedral in France." Superman told Carin.

"Besides being used as water spouts, architects used to place gargoyles atop buildings in the medieval ages to ward away evil spirits." Batman said quietly.

"But what is it doing _here_?" Alex asked. "I don't understand."

"Neither do I."

The Marine and Master Chief surveyed the statue. While both had learned or least heard of Notre Dame, neither had heard of gargoyles, much less seen one.

It, or rather _he_, for it was obviously a male figure, held a crouched position, one leg bent and the other stretched out, along which a long tail ran. One hand was on the ground, the other was reared back in a grabbing position, claws outstretched. Its limbs and chest were very well muscled; if he was alive he would certainly be a force to be reckoned with. His wings would have been colossal had they not been mostly folded along the creature's shoulder blades; they were great bat-like things that would have held a wingspan of a good seven feet or more.

What struck them about the statue was the face. Disregarding the fangs, pointed ears and horn-crested forehead, it was a very Human face. It wasn't unnaturally grotesque or horrible like a monster's; its features didn't hold an expression of wickedness or anger, but rather one of fierce protection.

The Marine's study of the statue was broken by a sort of disgusted sigh. His eyes flicked to Logan, who stood near him in the darkness.

"I want answers, but it looks like all we're gettin' is more questions!" he said gruffly.

"Complaining isn't going to—" Ripley started agitatedly.

"_I am sorry for the interruption, please go back to sleep."_

The voice was back.

"Go back to sleep?" Necro hissed at the ceiling. "You expect us to—"

"_The gargoyle was not supposed to be brought into the room in such a way as to cause commotion. We apologize for waking you. Please rest."_

Necro's lips curled back over his pointed teeth as the voice fell silent, causing his strange face to become even more freakish.

"Necro," Alex said, jogging over to him. "Calm down. I know everything is—"

Necro whirled on him, eyes flashing. "Don't you dare tell me to calm down. If I wasn't chained, I'd beat your sorry—"

"Enough!"

The voice was so strong and so commanding that Necro took an involuntary step away from Captain America, who had spoken. The Captain's face was hardened, his eyes narrowed, his mouth in a tight line.

Logan felt a smirk tug at the corner of his mouth. The Captain was taking charge.

"Now you listen to me! On second thought, ALL of you listen. Where I come from, one of the biggest wars in world history is happening. I've been fighting in it for almost two years. It's a living hell. Now….Logan tells me that we win this war." He paused, looking at them all, finally staring Necro down. "I can tell you one thing – we're not going to win _this_ war, and we didn't win _other_ wars by tearing each others throats out! An army is team! We live, eat, sleep and fight as a team! Same thing goes here, where ever we are. We're in this together. If we're going to make any progress, if we're going to figure out anything, we have to work together. " In a stride, he was inches away from Necro. "In other words: we work together, or you stay out of the way. That clear, son?" He said quietly.

For one of the first times in his life, Necro was intimidated. And not only did he feel intimidated, but he felt ashamed. He nodded slightly. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now I suggest all those who were sleeping go _back_ to sleep. I have a feeling we're gonna need all the rest we can get."

Without any argument, those who had been resting went back to the pillows and blankets at the far side of the room, and those who had been on sentry duty went back to their place by the hallway door.

"Carin, wake up! _Wake up!_"

Her eyes flew open, and she jumped to her feet. Trunks' hand was on her shoulder, Goku was on her other side, standing. She blinked a few times and nearly cursed; she couldn't believe she'd fallen asleep! "What's going—"

"Shh!" Several voices whispered urgently.

Superman was near her, and he bent and whispered, "I just heard a cracking noise. I don't know where it's coming from."

Carin's eyes narrowed in the darkness, scanning the room. And suddenly she heard it. A sharp, crackling, crunching, breaking sound. It grew more frequent, and her eyes fixed on the statue in the middle of the room. As she silently pointed, she moved forward. Superman, Batman, Captain America, Logan, and the Saiyans behind her moved towards the statue.

The Marines quickly and quietly woke the others, telling them not to make a sound, and they all watched the statue.

Cracks and fissures ran across the statue, spreading in spider web patterns on the stonework. Nearly everyone in the room jumped as the statue began to tremble, sending bits of stone and rubble to the floor. A sudden glowing purple light from the cracks shone brightly in the dark, and a moment later, the statue was no more.

A howling, guttural roar and pieces of stone flew in all directions as the gargoyle stood on his powerful legs, reaching his arms as far as they would go upwards, hands balling into clawed fists. His skin was all over a light purple colour; the loincloth he wore, the same dark brown colour as his long thick hair, was held by thick belt. His wings, as presumed, were indeed colossal, extending even further than they initially imagined. The eyes, once blank stone, now glowed a brilliant white, illuminating the gargoyle's face and fangs as he stretched his impressive body.

But all at once, the gargoyle's eyes were not the only thing lighting up his features; two manacles which the Marines and the others had not seen on the gargoyle's wrists now connected together by a glowing energy bond. The gargoyle stopped in his stretching as he felt the restraints. The white glow of his eyes subsided momentarily, revealing black irises, but soon flared an even angrier white. As he moved forward, similar manacles on his feet activated, binding together.

"What is all this?" The gargoyle roared, and his voice seemed to shake the room. He snarled and strained at the energy bonds, but to no avail.

Someone in the resting area took a step backwards, a movement which attracted the gargoyle's attention. He suddenly realized that he was not alone, surveyed the two groups, and backed away a step, his wings flaring. "Who are you?" he demanded. His voice was clear and strong – and angry. "Where am I? Where is my clan?"

"He was captured too?" Trunks whispered.

Carin nodded. "I guess so."

Their whispers caused the gargoyle to look their way. Though they had trouble seeing him, he was used to such darkness and could see everyone in the room perfectly. There were thirteen of them, and all seemed to be handcuffed, as he was. Two of them were bound strangely.

Goku walked forward slowly, raising manacled hands. "My name is Son Goku," he said. He gestured to the others in the room. "We're friends."

"Where am I?" the gargoyle repeated.

"We…we don't really know."

"We were taken from our homes and brought here. Like you," Captain America said calmly.

After a moment, the gargoyle's fists unclenched, his wings lowered slightly, and his eyes lost their white glow, reverting back to their normal black irises. "Then we are all captives."

"Yes."

"Where is my clan? Who has done this?"

"Your clan?" Captain America quickly glanced at Logan. "We don't know anything about your clan…you were the only one who was brought here. And we don't know who's behind all this. Some of us have been here nearly an entire day."

The gargoyle looked around at them all, then breathed in deeply. As he exhaled heavily through his nose, his wings folded themselves down; the talons that topped the wings hooked onto his shoulders, and the wings hung down his back like a cape. His tail writhed behind him. "My name is Goliath," he said. "Who are you?"

"My name is Captain America. Goku you've met, but this is Carin Darkstar, Trunks Briefs, Superman and Batman." He paused at each of them in turn, and then gestured to the group on his other side. "Over here, is Logan, Samus Aran, Master Chief, the Marine, Alex, Necro, Colonel John Connor, and Lieutenant Ellen Ripley."

Goliath's gaze lingered on Necro a second longer than the others. "Where are you from?"

"This might come as a bit of a shock. It's pretty hard to believe – it's still difficult for me to accept."

Goliath's mouth twitched in a momentary smirk. "Try me."

Goliath was indeed a Gargoyle, as they'd assumed. He, like all other Gargoyles, turned to stone during the day and awoke from the rocky shell at dusk. Goliath and his clan were originally from Scotland, but a magic spell had been cast on them, causing them to sleep in stone for one thousand years on the top of the castle they lived in. The spell was said to break when the castle rose above the clouds, and a man named Xanatos had taken the castle from Scotland and had it rebuilt atop a skyscraper in New York. Goliath and his clan had protected the streets of Manhattan along with the help of a detective, Elisa Maza and her partner. Goliath had been sleeping when he had been taken from his clan.

Upon hearing Goliath was from Manhattan, the true reality of alternate universes finally struck Alex. _He_ was from Manhattan…and if they had been from the same Manhattan, Alex surely would have known about Goliath and his clan of Gargoyles.

After Goliath had shared his story, Alex could not go back to sleep. Indeed none of them could find sleep and sat together in the darkness.

The Marine broke minutes of long silence by saying what they were all thinking: "I don't get it."

"Fifteen." The Master Chief said, his pale face nearly glowing in the dark, "Fifteen of us and so far I don't see any connection."

"We are not of one race or organization, we do not come from the same place or time and we share no common enemy," Carin stated, drawing her legs underneath her.

"Some of us are from _similar_ worlds and have _similar_ enemies," John Connor said, glancing at Trunks, "But you're right. No common ground at all."

"You're wrong." Captain America's comment caused the colonel and the others to stare. "We're all defenders."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

The Captain straightened and nodded at Carin. "Mrs. Darkstar, you defend your worlds from those demons. Batman, Superman, Goku, Trunks, you defend the people of Earth. All of you in military positions – Ripley, Connor, you marines – have nations or planets to protect. Goliath defends New York. Samus, you said you've fought against pirates. Alex and Necro, you defend those you hold dear."

Many heads nodded as the Captain spoke. What he said was true.

"Alright. We've finally found a connection," Batman said, leaning forward. He paused for a moment, then continued. "Sorry to rain on your parade, but that doesn't help us much. What about our captors?"

"Right. We need to find out as much as we can about them. Right now, we know next to nothing." Trunks said moodily.

"We know that they're ninjas and that two of 'em can do magic," Logan said. "But _why_ do they—" He stopped in mid-sentence as the lights suddenly flicked back on.

Goliath shielded his eyes with the tip of his wing and stood. The others followed his lead, looking towards the hallway.

"Hey!" Goku cried. "The pillows are gone! The blankets too!"

A few of them turned back around to face the corner where they had left the pillows and blankets and saw it was so.

"But who—" Samus wondered, but was cut off by a small click.

Simultaneously, all fifteen pairs of arms were snapped upwards and all were dragged backwards by the magnetic force that connected the energy bonds to the walls.

"Don't struggle! You can't get down!" Trunks shouted at Necro and Goliath, who hadn't undergone the linking before.

The hallway door opened and Subzero walked in. Although all were astonished, Cairn was the only one that let out an audible gasp.

In his arms was a young girl.

Subzero laid her down. She was dressed in a school uniform, and looked Japanese. Her hair, oddly, was a reddish-pink colour and what wasn't hanging over her forehead in fluffy bangs was done up in a long braid. She was a thin, long-legged girl and could be no older than fifteen years old.

With a wary glance at Logan, Subzero turned to leave.

"Wait! Stop! You cannot—_come back here!" _Carin's shouts took those bound next to her by surprise. "She is a child!"

Subzero neared the door, and Carin's shouts turned to screams, which finally melded from English to a language they could not understand. "Come back! You cannot kidnap a child! _Yein! Aia eb lingis sil djat! Veldizu! Leizu! WIKTONGUE!"_

They were released as the door closed, and unthinking, Carin raced towards the entrance.

"Carin!" Goku yelled, and dove for her ankle. He caught it in his strong grasp, and she fell just short of the door to collide solidly with the floor.

"Carin! Calm down!"

She was breathing heavily and it was several minutes before she regained the composure to stand up again. Goku lingered near her in case she tried to bolt again, ignoring the wide-eyed looks turned in Carin's direction.

"Carin?" he asked gently.

"She's…only a little one…" came her voice, angry, quiet and aching.


	5. Spirited Away PT 5

Chapter One: Spirited Away

Part Five

The US Space Shuttle _Intrepid, _1998.

David couldn't believe it. They'd actually stopped The Dragit's plan to wipe out the cities of Earth. His lunar base was destroyed behind them, and Earth was safe. He couldn't stop smiling. He wish his Mom and Rafe could have seen him--

"Well where is it?" Major Stark asked, leaning on Sergeant Romar's shoulder.

"Where's what?" David asked, turning back to face him, spinning in the zero-gravity of the shuttle.

"The champagne," Romar answered, smiling.

David grinned. "I guess you'll have to settle for Tang."

Stark laughed, then winced as the motion hurt his side.

Romar directed him towards the door. "Come on, let's take a look at that wound."

Doc turned to David and placed his hands on his shoulders. "You did good, kid. Real good."

David smiled in return as Doc took his hands away. "Thanks, Doc."

They pushed off the floor and made their way to the ladder that led to the control room of the shuttle.

"Jim!" David shouted. "Jim! Did you see it?"

His friend laughed. "Are you kidding? It was like the fourth of July!" He pushed off the seats at the controls to come closer to David and Doc. He was holding an Ooshati com-orb in his hand. "Hey David," he said, holding out the orb. "Someone wants to talk to you."

"Ooshati vessel?" Jim spoke into the orb. "This is Intrepid."

"This is the Ooshati vessel," a deep, smooth voice responded.

"He's here, sir." Jim said into the orb, and handed it to David.

"Who is it?" David asked, taking it from him.

"David Oosha?" the voice said. David looked into the orb, but the face was shrouded in darkness. "Is it really you?"

"Yes…?" David said uncertainly. He held the orb closer to him, and suddenly the face came into the light.

It was like looking in a mirror. "David."

"Father?" David asked, straining to keep his voice from trembling. His dark-haired, kingly father stood looking back at him through the orb. "You're alive?" Cale-Oosha had lost an eye in the many battles, but despite that, and despite the long pony-tail hanging over his shoulder, he looked exactly like David.

A soft smile spread over Cale-Oosha's lips. "I'm so very proud of you."

David closed his eyes to stem the tears that threatened to flow, holding the orb tightly in his fingers.

"_What the—?!"_

Jim's shout caused David's eyes to fly open. He turned, then shifted the orb to his right hand only and flung his left arm over his eyes.

"David?" his father's voice came. "What's going on? What's that light—"

A shining doorway of light hung in the air before them – David could only just make three figures silhouetted before it.

Suddenly there was a sharp pain in his neck. "Ah!" His hand went to his neck, where he pulled out three thin darts. He threw them to the ground, and tossing the com-orb from his right to left hand, he stretched out his fingers.

But there was something in the darts. His head began to swim, and he began to lose feeling in his toes and fingertips. The feeling crept up his legs and his arms. He crumpled.

The orb rolled from his fingers onto the floor.

He distantly heard Jim's voice, Doc's voice. His father's voice. They were all shouting the same thing.

"DAVID!"

England, 1999

"Harry?"

"Shh," Harry Potter placed a finger to his lips and nodded down at the sleeping baby in his lap.

Ginny Weasley smiled softly and sat next to him. She looked over the lawns near the Burrow, the Weasley residence, up at the clear blue July sky, and then down at the blue-haired little boy in Harry's arms.

The boy, of course, was Teddy Lupin, Harry's godson. He spent a few days a week with Harry, who lived with the Weasleys when he wasn't working in the Auror's Department. He couldn't bring himself to move back into Sirius' place just yet. The rest of the time, Teddy lived with his grandmother, Andromeda Tonks.

A soft breeze picked up and ruffled Harry's jet black, untidy hair across his forehead, revealing a lightning-bolt shaped scar.

"I can't believe it's been a year," Harry said softly.

Ginny nodded. A year since the last battle at Hogwarts, a year since Voldemort had been killed, a year since…since Fred, Lupin, Tonks…. She shook her head slightly, sending her red hair waving, and leaned her head against Harry's shoulder.

They sat like that for a long time, silently.

Smoke from a chimney a long way off bent and wavered in the breeze; the Gnomes in the garden were sleeping in a weedy patch.

Ginny lifted her head from Harry's shoulder as she heard the door creak open. Her mother and Andromeda Tonks were standing in the doorway. She touched Harry's shoulder lightly, and he nodded. He gently lifted Teddy up, and Ginny took him, marveling at how much heavier a baby was when he was sleeping.

Harry stuck his wand in his back pocket and stood, dusting grass off his jeans, and followed Ginny towards the door.

A sudden strong gust of wind caused Harry to stumble slightly and as he recovered, a blinding white light issued from behind him.

He whirled.

Dark shapes were leaping out of a hanging door of light in the air, and they were armed.

Harry whisked his wand out of his back pocket and turning, pointed it at Ginny and Teddy. _"Protego Totalum!"_ he shouted, and a near-invisible bubble surrounded them. Now that those two were shielded, he turned to the strangers. One of them raised their weapon – it was still hard to see exactly what it was – and prepared to fire.

"_Stupefy!"_ Harry shouted. Red light shot from his wand and hit the man squarely in the chest, sending him reeling to the ground. The other men looked down at him temporarily, then both raised their weapons, aiming at Harry.

"_Stupe—"_ Harry began, but suddenly another man, dressed in blue white and black with a conical Chinese hat appeared in front of him. He must have apparated! Before Harry could utter another syllable, the man raised a thin-barreled gun and fired. Five or six darts stuck in Harry's neck.

From within the shield of the _protego_ charm, Ginny saw Harry sink to his knees. "HARRY!" she screamed, and whipped out her own wand. She raced out of the bubble, leaving a crying Teddy on the lawn. She was about to shout out the Bat-Bogey Hex when a sudden cloud of smoke erupted in the area. "NO! HARRY!"

Although the smoke was thick, she could still see the light of the hanging door. _"HARRY!"_ she screamed.

Then suddenly, the light was gone. And with it, Harry Potter.

They learned that the girl's name was Hikaru Shidou. She was from Tokyo, but currently resided in a parallel world to Tokyo known as Cephiro, of which she was the "pillar."

Upon questioning of what she meant by this, she replied that her strength of heart, her loyalty, her _love_ kept the world of Cephiro from literally crumbling.

"I need to get back!" she said. "Cephiro could be falling apart right now! And what if Umi and Fuu need me?"

"Umi and Fuu?" Batman asked.

"My sisters—well, they're not _really_ my sisters. They're my best friends. I hope they're okay," she added quietly, looking down at her manacled hands.

"I'm sure they're fine," Alex replied, stooping down and sitting next to her.

"Do you have a sister?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Uh…no…I don't have any siblings. But my master's daughter is like a little sister to me. She's about your age."

"Don't worry, Hikaru," Goliath said in a comforting voice. "We're going to get you back home."

She did not seem frightened in the least by the Gargoyle, and smiled half-heartedly up at him.

"Ain't right," Logan remarked gruffly to Ripley. They stood some distance away from the others. "She shouldn't be here."

"None of us should be here," Ripley replied.

"Yeah." Logan tried to nod, then scowled, gazing downwards at his bound arms.

"Hey Trunks." Ripley said as the half-Saiyan walked by.

"Ripley?" He asked, turning towards her.

"How's Carin?"

"Okay, I guess." The three of them gazed over at Carin, who was sitting in the corner next to Goku and Captain America.

It had taken hours for Carin to settle, if one could call her current state "settled."

Goku learned that Carin had two children not much older than Hikaru that had once been kidnapped, and so she was extremely affected by the girl's presence.

She had done her best to remain calm at least on the outside while helping to explain the situation, but could not ignore the anger that clawed at her insides.

And matters only became worse when the next two arrived.

There was no word that Superman could think of to describe Carin's current state. Her reaction when Hikaru had arrived had been minimal in comparison to when the two boys arrived. She'd blown her stack.

He had no idea what she had shouted at Scorpion. But she'd been screaming at the top of her lungs, and the words she'd used didn't sound friendly. At the end of her rant, as Scorpion was leaving, she'd forced herself to speak in English.

"You've gone too far," she'd hissed, her alien accent deep. "When I get out of here, you had better watch your back. No number of ninjas will be able to stop me."

Superman thought Scorpion had actually looked unnerved, though it was hard to tell with so little of the ninja's face showing. In any case, the yellow-clad warrior left hurriedly.

Presently, he and Captain America were making sure the boys were alright, and were trying to wake them. He kept glancing at Carin, who stood alone, arms crossed, with her back to them. He knew she wasn't trying to be difficult, only trying to calm herself, and turned back to the boys.

They looked about the same age, and both had black hair. One had glasses, cracked and askew on his face. His hair was very messy – not unclean, but it stuck up at strange angles. A lightning-bolt shaped scar showed where the hair parted on his forehead.

The other's hair was much neater. His eyes were very peculiar, however; they were much longer and narrower than a normal Human's, and slightly slanted. He, unlike the other boy, who wore jeans and a sweater, was dressed in a blue jumpsuit.

Batman peered at the logo on the shoulder, then cast a perplexed look at Superman. "NASA."

"NASA?" Superman repeated, raising an eyebrow. "He's a little young to be working there, don't you think?"

Batman nodded.

"NASA?" Trunks echoed.

"National Aeronautics and Space Administration," the Dark Knight answered distantly. He looked up at Superman again. "Do you think he's from our world?"

Superman shook his head slowly. "I…don't think so. You and I were brought here together, and we're from the same world. Captain America and Logan were brought together, and they're from the same place. And Alex and Necro."

Batman nodded. "Another parallel world?"

"Looks that way."

They fell silent as Hikaru approached and knelt next to the boy with the glasses. She looked down at him, a soft, sad expression on her face. Gingerly, she reached down and straightened the spectacles.

All of a sudden she jumped backwards as he breathed in sharply.

His eyelids flew open to reveal emerald-green eyes, and he scrambled away in a crab-like fashion, reaching for his jeans pocket. When he saw that his hands were manacled and whatever he had been reaching for was gone, his eyes flew in all directions. "Who are you?" he asked. His voice held a British accent. "Where am I? What—" His breath caught as he backed into something, and his head jerked upwards. His mouth parted and his eyes widened in surprise as he rolled over onto his feet.

Above him towered the massive form of Goliath, who raised his eyebrow ridges in question.

Standing, the boy slowly backed away. He looked from Goliath to the others behind him and backed into the farthest corner.

"Don't be afraid, son." Captain America said. "We're not going to hurt you. We were captured and brought here just like you."

"They shot you with the darts, right?" Alex asked.

The boy nodded, then swallowed. "Where am I?" he repeated.

"We don't exactly know," Trunks said apologetically. "Ninjas attacked each of us and brought us here. We—" He gestured to himself, Goku and Carin – "have been here a whole day. I'm Trunks Briefs. This is Son Goku, and that's Carin Darkstar."

"What's your name?" Hikaru asked.

His eyes fixed on the small red-headed girl. "Harry Potter," he said hesitantly.

"Where are you from, Harry?" Samus asked.

"England," he answered. "Where…where's my wand?"

"Wand?" Alex exchanged looks with Necro. A smile twitched at his mouth. "Like a _magic_ wand?"

His sentence nearly ended in a laugh, but it was cut off by Harry's blunt "Yes."

"You can perform magic?" Carin asked, turning. Her voice was hoarse from all the yelling she had done, and she looked utterly exhausted.

Harry nodded slowly.

"Are you a warlock?"

"A wizard."

"How old are you, Harry?"

"I'm almost eighteen."

She raised her manacled hands to her face and rubbed her eyes with her index finger and thumb. "So young…." She raised her head again and opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by movement of the other boy.

His eyes opened. They were a strange, blue-grey, remarkably clear in color. When he didn't recognize his surroundings, he reacted in a very similar fashion to Harry. He somersaulted backwards; Batman noted that from the way he moved, he was naturally acrobatic. His motions were fluid and extremely well-balanced, strong.

He moved away from them all and as he stared at them, something occurred that startled them all.

His eyes' retinas seemed to turn inside out and back again, glowing a startling, speckled blue. His eyes widened as this took place, as if he had not meant for it to happen. After a second, it had passed, the retinas had gone back to their original places.

Everyone stood in silence for a moment while the boy's eyes wandered in all directions, pausing on every face. "Who are you?" he asked. His voice was a smooth alto-toned one, but it held an undercurrent of fear. His eyes lingered on Goliath.

The Gargoyle sensed the fear that he was so used to emanating from the boy, and folded his wings tightly around him to try and make himself appear smaller. "Do not be afraid," he said as soothingly as he could. "We are friends."

"Are—are you some kind of Alien?" the boy asked.

Goliath shook his head. "No. I am a Gargoyle. You may call me Goliath."

"Are _you_ an Alien?" Hikaru asked.

The soft voice of the girl distracted him from Goliath. He stared at her, and found himself answering, "Yes." Then he caught himself. He gazed around the faces in the room. "No….I'm….half."

"My name is Hikaru Shidou," she said, smiling. Her braid whipped over her shoulder as she bowed, her hands at her sides. "What's yours?"

He swallowed. _Where am I? Who ARE these people? Should I tell them who I am? They're all handcuffed, like me. Were they captured too? Should I ask?_ "My name is David Carter," he said after a few moments. "Were…were you all kidnapped too?"

"Yes, we were." Samus answered.

"Are you from Earth?" Batman asked. "Your suit is from NASA."

"Yeah, I'm from Earth! Aren't…aren't you?" He cast another look at Goliath, then glanced at Necro uncertainly.

"Most of us are from Earth, David," Captain America said. "All except Lieutenant Ripley, Samus Aran…" He gestured to each of them in turn, "Carin Darkstar, Master Chief and the Marine. I'm Captain America. I'm from Earth, but…I'm from the year 1943."

"What?" David and Harry said simultaneously, and looked at one another.

"I'm from 1994," Logan said. "What years are you two from?"

David fixed his gaze on Harry. "Did you just get here or something?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I woke up right before you did."

"Well?" Logan said.

"It's 1999 where I come from," Harry said.

"1998 for me," David said quietly. "Whoa…." He backed up until he hit the wall, the slid down until he was sitting. He shifted his stare from Harry to Captain America. "What's going on?"

"We've been captured from different worlds and realities," Carin said, walking closer. "We don't know why, we don't know by whom. We don't even know _where _we are. Ninjas drugged us all and brought us here. I've been here an entire day, with Trunks and Son Goku."

"Different worlds and realities?" Harry echoed. He lifted his hands to run his fingers through his hair, but lowered them again when he remembered the manacles.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Goku said, "But—"

"They're coming again!" Superman nearly shouted. "More captives?"

Everyone rushed to the walls on either side, and Harry and David, although confused, followed suit.

"Hit the switch!" Scorpion's familiar harsh voice came.

Instantly, everyone was chained to the wall.

"Don't struggle," Superman called to David and Harry. "We've tried everything to get out of them – it's no use."

Scorpion walked in with Subzero; they supported a man in white robes and brown leggings between them. They dragged him to the middle of the room and deposited him on the floor there.

He had blond hair that fell just short of his shoulders and fell in locks over his forehead. He was tanned as if he had spent years outside, and had scars on his hands and face. This man was a fighter of some sort.

_A defender,_ Carin thought, recalling Captain America's words.

Scorpion and Subzero began to leave, but Johnny Cage's voice rang down the hallway. "Wait! We have the last one!"

"About time," Scorpion hissed.

Goku and Carin exchanged looks; everyone stared at each other.

_The last one?_

_**3-1-2008**_ Johnny Cage and another ninja in black with a cybernetic-looking helmet came walking in, supporting what looked like a cowboy between them.

The eyes of those who were familiar with Earth's history widened as they took his appearance in; he was dressed in dirty blue jeans, cowboy boots and a tattered grey Confederate jacket and hat. He had white hair that fell just below his shoulders, and his skin was very tan, as if he spent long hours in the sun each day.

When the two ninjas laid him down, they got their first good look at his face, and Samus wasn't the only one who gasped.

The right side of his face was horribly disfigured; it was covered in scars, and the eye was very round and at least twice the size of the other. His lips on that side of his face looked as if they had been burned away and showed the better part of his teeth; all that was left was a string of skin that stretched from the bottom of his cheek to the area just below where his lip used to be.

"Subzero, Smoke! Hurry up, will you!" Scorpion spat.

The two ninjas left the man next to the other and turned to leave.

"Leavin' so soon?" A gritty voice asked behind them, and they turned.

Two hard fists collided with the side of Smoke's helmet, and the cords that went from his helmet to his back became unattached. He gagged and fell to the ground, writhing, as smoke hissed out of the tubes.

Subzero turned and just before he stretched out his hand, the cowboy turned and punched him with both fists in the gut. A noise like air gushing from a balloon came from the ninja and he went down, holding his ribs.

"_Get over here!"_ Scorpion bellowed, and from his wrist shot a spiked cord, which wrapped around the cowboy's wrists. He yanked him forward, but he did not fall; he merely stumbled.

Scorpion reeled him in until he was close enough to hit. The cowboy however, had plans of his own and suddenly kicked up his boot. The ninjas had been careless and had left the cowboy with one weapon – his spurs.

The spur caught Scorpion full in the side of the face and raked upwards. The ninja screamed in anger as his hand flew to his face; the cowboy grasped the rope that held his wrists and yanked as hard as he could, causing Scorpion to fall.

As the man unwound himself from the ninja's rope, the other, white-robed man began to wake.

Subzero sat up painfully, and ran towards the door. _"Help! Skywalker is waking and Hex is loose!"_ he yelled.

"Jonah Hex!" Batman said to Superman. "I knew I recognized him!"

"You _know_ him?" Superman asked.

"I'll explain later," Batman said. "He was a bounty hunter – it's rumored that he was responsible for killing 336 people single-handedly."

Superman uttered a small whistle, then turned his attention back to the matters at hand. With his super-hearing, he caught the sound of several footsteps approaching. "HEX!" he shouted. "Get out of here! Take him and run!"

Jonah Hex turned to them and after seeing Batman nodded and bent over the man which Subzero had called "Skywalker."

"Hold on, boy," he said. The man nodded, then shook his head as if trying to clear it.

"Not so fast," came Scorpion's voice. His face and mask were torn, but instead of blood and muscle, the white bone of a skull showed through the gash. Smoke began to pour from his bony jaws, and he breathed in deeply, rearing back as if he were about to spit or blow something from his mouth.

"Stand down Scorpion!"

"Raiden!" Scorpion hissed, whirling.

Jonah Hex laid Skywalker down and balled his fists. "More of yeh? Alright, have it yer way." With a yell, he ran forward, intending to tackle them both.

With swift movements, Raiden grabbed the still-writhing Smoke off the floor, snatched the back of Scorpion's suit and backed out of the door, closing it behind him.

"THE DOOR IS BOOBY-TRAPPED!" the Marine yelled.

Jonah Hex skidded to a halt so violently that he slipped and fell just short of the doorway.

The ninjas stood looking at him through the door; Subzero and a ninja in green had plugged Smoke's tubes into his back again and he was recovering.

Raiden smashed his fist against something they could not see, and from their places on the wall, the entire company fell to the floor.

Jonah Hex whipped off his hat and threw it to the floor, then proceeded to throw out such profanities as if there were no tomorrow.

Carin gasped and clamped her hands over Hikaru's ears, who merely looked startled. "SIR!" she bellowed.

Jonah Hex's spew of cusses stopped short and he turned to see Carin's disapproving glare. "Whut--? Oh." He touched his hand to his brow. "Sorry ma'am. Didn't know there were ladies present." He looked down at Hikaru. "Sorry, missie."

Hikaru smiled at him. "It's okay."

"Are you alright?"

Superman's voice caused them to turn. He was kneeling next to Skywalker, who nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"Your name is Skywalker?"

He nodded. "Luke Skywalker. Where am I?"

"We don't—"

"AND THESE _NIMRODS_ DIDN'T HAVE THE SENSE TO TAKE HIS SPURS! HE STILL HAS THEM!"

Scorpion's bellows cut clearly through the transparent door, and all twenty of the defenders looked through it to see him exasperatedly pointing inside the room.

"Calm yourself, Scorpion." A quiet male voice said, and a figure that some of them recognized came into view. It was the young man with the seaweed-green hair, the one that had spoken to them over some kind of intercom.

"But his spurs—"

"It does not matter now. Go."

"But—"

"Go," the young man said more sternly.

Raiden and Scorpion bowed their heads very slightly and with the rest of the ninjas, left. The young man looked inside the doorway, and then, to their astonishment, walked through the door and into their presence.

As he entered, he held up his hands, and the air shimmered and wavered in front of him, as if a bubble surrounded him. "Please be calm. Everything is going to be explained now. My name is Kohaku," he said politely, bowing but never taking his eyes off of them, "But you may call me Haku."

AUTHORS NOTES

The dialogue from "Well where is it?" to "I'm so very proud of you" is (c) Dreamworks' "Invasion America," Episode 13.

Goku, Trunks (c) Akira Toriyama's Dragonball Z  
Carin (c) Silvre (Karyn N. Anderson)  
Batman, Superman and Jonah Hex (c) DC Comics  
John Connor (c) The Terminator movie series  
Ripley (c) 20th Century Fox's "Alien" movies  
The Marine and The Master Chief (c) Bungie  
Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Logan (Wolverine) (c) Marvel Comics  
Samus Aran (c) Nintendo's Metroid  
Necro and Alex (c) CAPCOM's Street Fighter  
Goliath (c) Disney's Gargoyles  
Hikaru (c) CLAMP's Magic Knight Rayearth  
Harry Potter (c) J.K. Rowling  
David Carter (c) Dreamworks' "Invasion America"  
Luke Skywalker (c) LucasFilm's "Star Wars"  
Raiden, Scorpion, Subzero, Johnny Cage, Smoke and all ninjas (c) Midway's "Mortal Kombat"  
Kohaku/Haku (c) Miyazaki's "Spirited Away"


	6. Thy Dungeon Man PT 1

Chapter Two: Thy Dungeon Man

Part One

"What are you?" Batman asked.

"I am a River Spirit."

"A spirit? You mean, like a ghost?" Hikaru asked.

"Not a ghost, Ms. Shidou," Haku said. "A _spirit._ An entity. I am the embodiment of the Kohaku River."

"Where are we?" Master Chief demanded, stepping forward.

"What are we doing here?" Ripley asked.

"Who brought us here?"

Haku held up his hands. "I am going to take you to someone who will answer your questions."

"You'd better," Samus muttered under her breath.

"Now," Haku said, and the shielding bubble around him fell away, "If you will come forward, I will unchain you. Your powers and abilities will be restored to you as soon as we leave the room, but you must not attack me."

"Give us one good reason, bub," Logan growled.

"Them," Haku said simply, pointing behind the group. "Or more particularly, _him."_

They turned. The entire crowd of ninjas stood there silently, and at their head was the youth with the magic cards. His violet eyes surveyed them coolly; his fingers were placed on the top of his deck, ready to draw.

"He is very powerful," Haku said. "It would be unwise, not to mention dangerous, to cross him. We do not wish to harm you. I will unchain you now, and then you must follow me."

They all looked at one another, at the ninjas, at Haku.

Then suddenly Hikaru broke away from the group and walked towards Haku, holding out her manacled hands. "Take them off, please."

Haku smiled softly and placed his hands on the energy cords. They glowed a brilliant white, and were gone.

Hikaru smiled happily and stretched her arms, standing on her tiptoes. "Thank you," she said, and bowed to him.

Haku returned with a deep bow himself. "Who is next?"

Hesitantly, they all lined up and as patiently as they could, waited for their manacles to be removed.

One of the last was Logan.

Before releasing him, Haku hesitated. "We bound you this way because we could not keep your claws from extending," he said. "The only way you could release them was to kill yourself, and we doubted you would go so far. I am sorry it was so uncomfortable," he added as he reached for Logan's bonds. "Do not hurt me," he said, pausing once more.

The mutant let out a gruff kind of sigh. "Kid, I ain't clawed nobody that didn't claw me first."

Haku nodded and placed his hands on the cords, first at the ones on Logan's elbows, then his wrists and neck.

Logan heaved a sigh of relief as he slowly stretched his arms. As he bent them back and forth, he looked from Haku to Necro, who was still bound. "Why'd you chain _him_ up like that?"

Haku immediately went towards Necro, and turning his head slightly towards Logan, he answered, "Because Illia's limbs are elastic. We bound him this way so he would not be able to interfere—" Haku broke off as he reached the fighter, who was staring coldly down his large nose at him. "I apologize for the uncomfortable way in which way bound you."

Necro looked, quite obviously, like he very much wanted to hurt Haku. But none of the others had made a move to do anything like that, and Captain America's words were still fresh in his mind. He would make no more moves on his own.

And this Haku, even if he _was_ a spirit, looked like a young boy. He wouldn't hurt him. _Although I wouldn't mind laying into some of those ninjas. They're the ones who attacked me in the first place…and frightened Effie…._

His mind snapped back to reality suddenly as Haku reached for his bonds. Although he did his best to remain calm, he stiffened visibly when Haku undid the manacles around his elbows, wrists and ankles.

As soon as he was free, Necro stretched backward, bending until his nose touched the floor behind him. He then proceeded to bend his arms and legs in bizarre and painful-looking ways while Haku undid the bonds of Ripley and Goliath.

While Haku had been releasing the others, Goku, Superman and Captain America had been filling David, Harry, Jonah Hex and Luke Skywalker in on what details they knew.

"Time travel n' such. Shoulda known." The cowboy said coolly.

"How do you know about time travel?" Superman asked in surprise.

"Experience. Ah've led an interesting life," Hex replied distantly, looking around at the strange group. His over-large right eye lingered on Goliath and Necro. "Never seen the likes of them, though…." His gaze drifted over to the silent group of ninjas and fell on the boy with the wild hair. "So yeh say he can do magic?"

"That's right."

"Ah'll be darned."

"Please follow me," Haku said loudly, and they all fell silent.

The door slid open behind him, and he walked out into the hall, pausing to look at them before he went on.

They cast wary glances at one another, but Goku and Trunks finally crossed through the doors that had imprisoned them. The others situated themselves so that David, Harry and Hikaru were surrounded by adults, and made their way into the hallway.

This immediate hallway, so familiar in appearance, turned out to be a long corridor. Behind them, it melded into darkness. In front of them, it carried on for a ways, then turned sharply to the right.

It was in this direction that Haku led them.

Master Chief glanced behind him as they walked, and after seeing him do so, the Marine did the same.

Led by the wild-haired youth, the ninjas were following them. With one glance, the Marine had memorized how many there were, where they were situated and figured which ones would be the biggest threats. In case something happened, he would be prepared. So would the Chief.

Nothing occurred during that long trek down the hallway, but at last they reached the turn in the hall and the entire atmosphere of the place changed.

Rather than the white, sterile surroundings they were so used to, the walls were painted a bright gold and were hung with rich red tapestries. Strange, red-flowered plants hung in mid air above them; their long tendrils hung so low as to brush against the tops of the marines' heads. Floating, glowing baubles floated lazily near the ceiling, though a few, as if curious, descended to drift around their visitors.

As they continued down this corridor, the tapestries became less and less, to be replaced by odd, framed pictures…or were they windows? This they wondered, for many of them moved, and a strong breeze was coming through one of them.

One depicted a rolling green terrain, filled with flowers, tall leafy plants and further in the distance, plots of land that looked like gardens. Further in the distance, they would see what appeared to be farm land, and nestled in the hills, little dwellings with round doors.

Another opened onto a city, where a tall clock tower dominated the scene. Horse-drawn carriages made their way down cobblestone streets lined with gas lit lamps, and men in top hats and women in frilled dressed milled the sidewalks.

Yet another showed the interior of some kind of facility. It was dark inside, though lamps flickered from time to time, briefly illuminating the metallic floors, railings and stairwells of the room. The floor was tiled, and one of these tiles was red and raised slightly higher than the others. Suddenly something appeared on this tile, a green glowing pentagram within a circle. Green flames shot from it, and out of these flames a bulbous red floating ball came.

The ball swiveled around to face out of the window, and they saw that it was not a ball in the least. It had one gigantic green eye in the center of its body, with horns all around its frame. It opened a massive, tooth-lined mouth, uttered a strange, guttural cackle and charged towards them.

Hikaru shrieked, Superman flew in front of her to act as a shield, and someone yelled.

But the yell came from within the window, where a well-built man in heavy green armor jumped into view, wielding a buzzing chainsaw.

Hikaru, Superman and a few of the others heaved a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry it frightened you," Haku said. "But they cannot see you as you can see them. Please, come along."

Master Chief was curious to see the outcome of this battle, but ignored this impulse and continued on.

At the end of this bright and curious hallway, there was a set of heavy double doors with rungs for handles. On either side of these stood the tall, strangely-armored men that had accompanied the young man with the magic cards on his first appearance. The stood very straight, but their heads were bowed, almost as if they were sleeping.

But at their approach, their heads rose, and the group was able to get a better look at each of them. Although both were identical in face, armor and height, one was dressed in purple armor and had hair of the same color, while the other was dressed in red armor and had silvery-blond hair.

At a signal from the youth, they each took a rung and with a creak worthy of a haunted house, the doors opened.

From here, they were herded into a dark room. Torches sprung to life as they walked past, and the light progressively revealed the room to them. Twenty chairs, arranged in a semi-circle were slowly shown. At their head, set apart, was another, ornate chair.

It was on this chair that a small man, balding on top but with long white hair around and dressed in a red and gold robe, sat.

"Greetings," he said, hopping down from the chair and spread his small hands. "I am the Dungeon Master."

A/N

Goku, Trunks (c) Akira Toriyama's Dragonball Z  
Carin (c) Silvre (Karyn N. Anderson)  
Batman, Superman and Jonah Hex (c) DC Comics  
John Connor (c) The Terminator movie series  
Ripley (c) 20th Century Fox's "Alien" movies  
The Marine and The Master Chief (c) Bungie  
Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Logan (Wolverine) (c) Marvel Comics  
Samus Aran (c) Nintendo's Metroid  
Necro and Alex (c) CAPCOM's Street Fighter  
Goliath (c) Disney's Gargoyles  
Hikaru (c) CLAMP's Magic Knight Rayearth  
Harry Potter (c) J.K. Rowling  
David Carter (c) Dreamworks' "Invasion America"  
Luke Skywalker (c) LucasFilm's "Star Wars"  
Raiden, Scorpion, Subzero, Johnny Cage, Smoke and all ninjas (c) Midway's "Mortal Kombat"  
Kohaku/Haku (c) Miyazaki's "Spirited Away"  
Pharaoh Atem, Dark Magicians and all related characters (c) Kasuki Takahashi  
The Dungeon Master (c) TSR and Marvel Productions

Hobbiton (c) J.R.R. Tolkien  
Doomguy and Cacodemon (c) ID's DOOM

Thy Dungeon Man (c) Videlectrix ()


	7. Thy Dungeon Man PT 2

chapter two: thy dungeon man

chapter two: thy dungeon man

Part Two

"Please, be seated." He waved his hands and all twenty of the chairs pulled themselves out.

Superman looked at and _through_ the chairs. They were normal, wooden seats. No mechanical devices inside them, nothing to bind them once they were seated. Exchanging looks with Batman, he strode forward and sat.

Batman gritted his teeth slightly, but followed the Man of Steel's example and sat, stiffly, in the chair next to him.

One by one they all seated themselves. Like before, they situated the younger ones among them, just in case.

Goku looked around him; he surveyed the little old man before him, the ninjas behind him, the young men. Taking into consideration his fellow warriors, he didn't see why they couldn't take them all on. They might have some trouble with Haku and his friend, but he figured they could overpower them pretty easily. But he wanted to see how everything played out before he made a move. He glanced at Trunks, who was also staring around the room; his face was turned away from him. He took a quick look at Carin across the way.

Her greyish hazel eyes were fixated on Dungeon Master, her mouth in a tight, straight line. He couldn't discern her thoughts, but he knew she was on edge – even more so than the others around her.

Carin was indeed tense. Although she stared at Dungeon Master, she only half-saw him. Her thoughts were only partially on the matter at hand; they had wandered back to the Alvarunus universe, to her husband and teammates. Were they alright? Had they been harmed? Were they here, captive in some room she was not aware of?

Dungeon Master's voice yanked her out of her homeward thoughts.

"No doubt you are all puzzled. Perhaps you, Luke Skywalker, and you Jonah Hex, more so than the others, due to your recent arrival." He shifted in his large chair, making himself more comfortable, and folded his hands together. "You are in the Realm, my domain. You were brought here from your respective worlds by magic, as some of you may have guessed—"

"Enough of this gabbin'. I've been waitin' long enough for an answer, and I want one now: _why_ are we here?" Logan growled through his teeth.

Though some of the ninjas shifted irritably at this outburst, Dungeon Master merely smiled. "Very well." He paused for a moment, as if for dramatic effect. "You are here to fight your enemies."

An uneasy, abrupt silence filled the room.

"Our enemies?" Hikaru asked loudly, breaking the silence. Then her voice dropped low and she leaned back in her chair uncomfortably. "But…I don't have any."

Samus glanced at Hikaru and leaned forward. "What do you mean, fight our enemies?"

"Exactly that. They are eager to fight you."

"If they were so ready to fight, they could seek us out themselves. Why—" Superman started.

"Here, there is no danger of innocent life being lost."

"And since when did our enemies ever care about innocent life?" Trunks asked, but Dungeon Master seemed not to hear him.

"I still don't get it. Why us? Why _you?"_ David Carter asked, his strange oblong eyes glinting in the light of the torches flickering around the room.

"Because you are some of the greatest heroes the universes have ever beheld."

David let out a shaky, scornful kind of laugh. "Greatest heroes, yeah right. I don't know why _I'm_ here."

"You are David Oosha…you have saved your planet Earth from those who wish to destroy it."

David grew stiff and leaned away as far as he could from Dungeon Master without leaving his chair. His mouth went dry, and it was a long minute before he could manage a quiet, "How did you know about that? That just happ…." He trailed off. "How do you know who I am?"

Dungeon Master's eyes twinkled. "I know many things."

"You still haven't answered his question."

Dungeon Master turned in slight surprise at the gruff tone. "Mrs. Darkstar?"

"_You_ can call me the Blade Rider." She responded, a hard edge to her voice. Her eyes had narrowed, the irises steely.

The little man bowed his head very slightly. "Blade Rider. What question was that?"

She repeated David's question. "Why you?" She uncrossed her tightly-folded arms.

"I have the magical capabilities to bring beings from other worlds and place them elsewhere. I thought I had made that clear."

"You are avoiding the question." Goliath said, his tail squirming in agitation behind him. "She did not ask how, but why. What reason do you have for bringing us all here?"

"You'd better answer the lady. You gotta a lot of tough people in this room." Logan warned.

"Why did you bring us here?" Captain America demanded.

There was a half moment of silence, and then Dungeon Master made a shrugging kind of motion. "I was bored."

"What?!" Harry cried, standing up so violently that his chair crashed to the floor behind him.

The others around him reacted similarly, flying to their feet. The Marines looked ready to pummel Dungeon Master, Ripley had a look of severe detestation on her face, and Luke Skywalker's fists were clenched tightly.

This commotion was overruled by a curious _snikt_ noise and a furious yell. A streak of yellow and blue, and then --

"_DARK MAGICIAN!"_

There was a flash of light, and Logan came hurtling backward, bowling over Captain America, Alex and Necro.

Three long, razor-like blades on each of Logan's hands retracted back into the spaces between his knuckles.

Hikaru peeked around Superman's cape, wide-eyed.

David had tripped over his chair and fallen into Samus and Jonah Hex, and all three looked in wonder at the scene before them.

The tall purple-armoured man stood half-crouched, five feet in front of Dungeon Master, his still-glowing staff pointed directly at Logan's chest. The wild-haired youth stood behind the armoured man, before Dungeon Master, a card poised in his fingers.

Haku was at Dungeon Master's side, his hands in odd positions as if in the middle of a spell. His hands now relaxed, and he straightened.

The youth replaced the card into the deck in his other hand and strode forward. He touched the armoured man's elbow, and he lowered his staff and returned to his standing position.

Dungeon Master looked more or less unphased. "I've forgotten to present my assistants. You've already met Kohaku, or Haku, as he likes to be called, but I don't believe you've been introduced to the Pharaoh."

"Ain't never heard a' no pharaoh." Jonah Hex said, getting up and waving his hat as if to clear it of dust.

"Atemu once ruled the Earth country of Egypt as king. He knows many magic arts and his Duel Monsters – especially ones such as the Dark Magician -- are quite dangerous, as _you_ have just witnessed firsthand, Wolverine."

A grunt came from Logan and he hefted himself up on one elbow. "I'm _quite_ dangerous too, bub."

The Pharaoh's violet eyes flickered, and he put two of his fingers to the top of his deck, to draw.

"We don't wish to harm you," Haku said, placing himself between Logan and Atemu. "Please, calm yourself."

"You want us to be calm?" Necro shouted. "This man brings us here for _amusement!"_ He then uttered something Russian, revulsion clear in his voice.

"You've brought us here to play a game? To entertain you?" Samus shouted.

"_Dju ta leizuus sil aia."_ Carin snarled.

"Disgusting I may be, Blade Rider," Dungeon Master said loftily, "But none of you may leave until you take part."

"In what?" Hikaru piped up from behind the Man of Steel, who moved aside so Dungeon Master could see her.

"A tournament."

"I can't believe we're listening to this." Master Chief's hoarse, deep voice came.

"You don't really have much choice," Johnny Cage said from the back of the room, his voice holding the echo of a snigger, "It's all fixed."

"I'll fix your _face."_ The Chief asked, turning. He did not shout the retort; his voice was deathly quiet, full of malice.

"One more comment like that Cage, and I'll allow him to do so," said Dungeon Master, fixing the ninja with a stern eye.

Cage's grin ran away from his face, and he fell gravely silent.

"Excuse Cage. But he is right, in a way. You must participate in this tournament."

"Or what?" Luke Skywalker asked. "What happens if we refuse?"

"Pain. Sorrow. I do not wish to go into detail, Jedi." Dungeon Master's eyes became strangely hollow and empty, as if imagining things that he had no wish to take part in. "Please, do not choose that path."

"How would this tournament work?" Goku asked rather abruptly, folding his arms and cocking his head slightly.

Some of the others stared at him oddly – from the tone of his voice, he almost seemed _interested._

The little man turned to the Saiyan. "You would be divided into groups of two or three and taken to a stage where you would fight your enemies."

"What are the guidelines? If we fall out of the ring do we lose?" Goku asked.

"There is no ring. I believe this will be unlike any other tournament you've ever participated in."

"No ring? Where do we fight then?"

"I cannot reveal more to you now," Dungeon Master said. "Do you accept the challenge?"

Goku's eyebrows furrowed, and he turned to the others.

"Can we talk it over?" Captain America asked.

"Of course."

Those who were still sitting now stood and all twenty of the warriors gathered together.

Dungeon Master, Haku, Atemu and the ninjas all waited patiently. From the huddle came whispers, gestures and – once or twice – shouts that were immediately hushed.

Finally, the group unfolded and Carin walked forward. "Alright, Dungeon Master. We'll play your game. But you have to do two things for us."

"And what is that, Blade Rider?"

"First, promise us that none of the young ones will fight alone. I mean Harry, David and Hikaru will not be paired with each other unless one of the others is with them."

Dungeon Master nodded. "I will hold to that."

"Next, you must promise us that our families, friends and teammates will not be harmed while we are here."

Dungeon Master smiled. "I promise—"

"Swear."

"I _swear_—"

"On the River Styx."

The little man's eyes widened slightly, then a strange, almost thankful expression came over his face. "I swear upon the River Styx that your loved ones, friends and colleagues will not be harmed while you are in the Realm."


	8. Thy Dungeon Man PT 3

Chapter Two: Thy Dungeon Man

Part Three

The others watched as Carin and Dungeon Master grasped arms, just below the elbow, and shook once.

The little man smiled up at her, folding his hands into his large sleeves. "It is done. Now." He turned to Haku. "Will you please take them to the dining room?"

"Great, I'm starving!" Goku said, and his stomach growled very loudly, followed by his apologetic laugh.

As they were led to the dining room, Logan growled quietly, "I still don't like it. I think we rushed into this."

"There wasn't much choice," Captain America replied, also in a hushed tone of voice. "We'll just have to do what we can, make the best of whatever situation in which we find ourselves. How's your chest?" he added after a moment.

The mutant rubbed his chest briefly. "Fine, now. Might have a bruise there." He laughed scornfully. "I _never_ bruise…whatever that _Dark Magician_ -- or whatever he called it – hit me with, it was somethin' powerful."

"We don't want to get on their bad side, that's for sure." The Captain said, nodding.

"Yeah, I'll be watchin' my mouth from now on."

"If you can."

Logan turned to his friend and smirked. "Heh…." His gaze lingered on the soldier's face for a moment. "Missed you, Cap. It's good to see you again."

"You too, Logan."

"I hope you are hungry," Haku said, coming up to another pair of double doors. "Here we are." He flung open the doors, and they were greeted by…

…an empty table.

"Is the food still in the kitchen?" Goku asked hopefully.

"There is no kitchen." He answered mysteriously.

"Look boy," Jonah Hex said, striding up to him with spurs jangling, "Ah know ah haven't bin here long, but I've _already_ had enough o' yer tricks."

"It's no trick, Mr. Hex," Haku said, a smile playing on his lips. "Please be seated, and I will serve you your food."

Jonah Hex's right eye seemed to bulge even more than normal in indignation, and he scowled, but he stomped into the room and threw himself into a chair, propping his cowboy boots on the chair next to him.

Superman scanned the room again with his x-ray vision. No tricks, no traps…and no food. Just normal wooden seats and table.

Hikaru cautiously went in, looking around. It was a plain, but welcoming dining room; brightly lit, with warm green-painted walls. Jonah Hex moved his feet in surprise as she quietly sat next to him. Carin followed and sat on the other side of the girl.

The other warriors filed in until all the other seats were occupied.

Haku walked up behind David Carter first. "What would you like to eat?"

David looked back at him, confused. "What would I like?"

Haku smiled pleasantly and nodded.

"Anything?"

"Anything, David Oosha," Dungeon Master's voice came. He was standing at the front of the room, next to the Pharaoh Atemu.

"Just speak it, and I will make it appear."

"No way."

Haku smiled widely. "Go on."

David's stomach growled at him. "A double cheeseburger. With bacon. And fries and a milkshake."

"What flavor?"

"Of milkshake? Chocolate, I guess."

Haku placed his thumb and forefinger delicately together, and blew through them. White seashell-like things appeared out of nowhere, chiming like bells as they hit against one another. They swirled in circles on the table before David, until in the midst of these tornado-like eddies solid shapes began to form.

When, after a few moments they faded away, there lay before him a piping-hot cheeseburger with French fries and a tall chocolate milkshake.

"_Yosh,"_ David whispered. He tentatively reached for one of the fries and after looking questioningly at Haku, took a bite.

"How is it?" Dungeon Master inquired.

David couldn't help but smile. The fries were perfectly crunchy and hot. "Good."

"Excellent. Hikaru Shidou? What would you like?" the small man asked.

"Chicken teriyaki with udon noodles? And may I have some Jasmine tea?"

"Of course," Haku answered, putting his forefinger and thumb together again. Once again, a steaming plate of chicken, fresh vegetables, udon noodles and a pot of tea and teacup appeared in front of Hikaru. She picked up a pair of chopsticks beside the plate and promptly began to eat, no questions asked.

"Harry Potter?"

"Pumpkin juice, and roast chicken and potatoes."

And so it went on.

"French toast with sausage. And orange juice."

"Spaghetti and meatballs."

"A New York hotdog with all the works."

"…Pirozhki." Necro said, Russian accent even more apparent than normal.

"Steak. Well done."

The foods were many and varied, but the strangest was Carin's. She ordered something she called _"Venu Ej Fralo," _which she said literally translated to "drink with plant." And it was exactly that – a green, thick-and-long-stemmed plant, with blue leaves at the top (Hikaru thought it reminded her of bamboo) in a tall glass bottle filled with liquid. Carin took the plant out of the bottle and began to eat the end, and then drank from the bottle.

And then there was Goku.

When it came his turn, he bade Haku to lean down so he could whisper to him. He whispered for what seemed like a whole two minutes, and Haku's eyes grew wider as each second went on.

After the Saiyan was done speaking, Haku gave him an incredulous look. Then he went to Dungeon Master, took him aside and whispered in his ear.

A loud burst of laughter erupted from the little man, and Haku straightened up, looking slightly vexed.

"Haha, forgive me." Dungeon Master let out one more short laugh. "If that is what he wants, give it to him."

"All of it?" Haku asked.

"Yes, all of it."

Haku turned to the Saiyan with a resigned look on his face, placed his fingers together, and blew. More of the white, shell-like things appeared than before, and swirled around not only on the table before him, but in a large swell beside him. When the shapes solidified, they saw that heaping plates and bowls lay before him, and next to him was a gigantic cart overflowing with cups, saucers, dishes, bowls and plates of various foods.

"Wow! Thanks!" Goku said, and dove right into a big bowl of rice, chopsticks flying.

"You're not really going to eat _all _of that, are you?" the Pharaoh Atemu asked, a note of surprise in his normally firm voice.

"You'd better believe it," Trunks said, lowering a bowl of soup. "I've seen him eat more than that in one sitting."

"I'm sorry, but that's disgusting." Samus said, pausing in her eating of a Chozodian dish.

Goku tried to respond, but all they heard was a muddle of unintelligible babbling.

"Beg pardon?" Captain America asked.

He swallowed, then said, "That's what Piccolo says."

"Piccolo?"

"Friend of mine."

"Hey kid," Logan said, gesturing to Haku. "You got any beer?"

"I don't…believe that's the best…" Haku said uncertainly, looking from the mutant to Dungeon Master.

"You said I could have anythin' I wanted."

Haku looked once again at Dungeon Master, who smiled and shrugged as if to say, "Go ahead."

A cold glass bottle of beer appeared before Logan. He raised his hand, made a fist, and a thin, shining blade slide out of the space above his first knuckle. He popped off the lid, but before he took a drink he asked, "What about a cigar?"

"Dungeon Master!" Haku turned to him, exasperated.

Dungeon Master snapped his fingers and a lit cigar appeared, floating near Logan's hand. "It's alright, Kohaku."

The mutant plucked it out of the air, took a long drag at it, and released a cloud of bluish smoke. He nodded in thanks.

"You really shouldn't," Haku said quietly, turning to Logan. "It'll—"

"Kill me? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Heard it all before, kid."

After they had eaten to their content, Dungeon Master instructed Haku and Atemu to show them their quarters, and left the room.

With a wide sweeping motion of his arm, Haku caused the plates, dishes and bottles to vanish from the table. "Please follow us."

They left the dining room behind as they made their way down an adjoining hallway, until they soon reached another, tremendous set of double doors. But these doors, like the ones that had been the entrance to the room in which they had been held captive, were transparent.

And beyond them, an interesting sight met their eyes.

Transparent-walled room upon room, interconnected with networks of clear-walled hallways sprawled out before them. They were all _training_ rooms, of different styles and types. One of the larger rooms held a strange, translucent, golden half-sphere which Carin recognized to be a replica of a Dome from her world.

There was another, tiled room with some kind of large, cylindrical machine in the middle. Goku realized it was a gravity chamber.

There were other rooms too – a padded room for wrestling; a room with floor mats for stretching, martial arts or fencing; a room with targets lined along the back wall; and a room with various objects, ranging from logs to bricks to concrete blocks. One other room attracted their attention the most, and the Master Chief was the first to notice it. "My armor!"


	9. Thy Dungeon Man PT 4

_A/N Thank you so much for reading! I really appreciate the kind watches and compliments, and look forward to future comments and critique!_

Chapter Two: Thy Dungeon man

Part Four

"And mine!" said the Marine.

"There's my shield!" Captain America said, pointing.

"We will go to that room first, if you wish." Haku replied.

"Let's go." Master Chief said in a commanding tone.

Atemu and Haku pushed the transparent doors open, passed the room with the floor mats, and turned down a hall immediately to the right.

The room that held their things was the last on the left. Across from it were four rooms with solid, rather than transparent, walls.

Haku opened the doors. "For all our purposes, we will call this the armory. Most of your things will be stored here." He led them inside, Atemu walking beside him.

"Before you rush to your belongings, let me hand out a few that only their owners should touch," Haku said. Atemu handed him a long thin box. "Harry Potter."

The Boy Who Lived came forward, green eyes lingering on the box.

"Your wand." The youth said, opening the box. "Holly, eleven inches, single phoenix tail feather." Inside lay a short piece of wood, lovingly carved and polished.

Harry took it from the box, removed his glasses and said, _"Reparo." _He tapped the frame of the spectacles with his wand as the word left his mouth, and the crack that spanned one lens vanished.

Alex's eyes widened. _No more magic jokes from me, this seals it._

"You will also find your _Firebolt_ over there on the—"

"My _Firebolt?_" Harry shouted. "That's impossible! It was destroyed!"

"Nothing is impossible," Atemu replied, gesturing to the wall behind him.

Harry's mouth dropped open. Hanging there on the wall was his _Firebolt_, the same broomstick that his late godfather Sirius Black had given him in his third year of school. Below the broom, neatly folded and stacked, were his clothes that he used for Quidditch – his uniform, his knee and elbow pads, his boots….

"David Carter," Atemu said solemnly, holding out a box. Inside, completely untouched, was a white glove, made of some unfamiliar material.

"The Exotar," David breathed, and taking it, slipped it over his fingers. The thing glowed a dazzling bluish-white for a moment, then subsided. The glove was now perfectly fitted to his hand.

"For further reference, I advise all others not to touch the Exotar."

"Why not?" Jonah Hex asked, glancing about the room for his pistols.

"Because you're not me," David said. "Anyone else who tries to wear it gets their hand crushed. I've seen it happen."

"Ouch," John Connor winced.

"The rest of you," Haku said more loudly, "Will find your weapons hanging behind me, and those of you with armor will find it over there."

They all dispersed to find their respective belongings; Carin made a beeline for a black scabbard with silver markings hanging on the wall. She lifted it from its peg and took the sword from its sheath.

Several others turned from their own possessions as it was drawn, so bright was the blade.

Carin eyed the weapon, the weight of the hilt familiar, the metal warm in her hand.

"You are not checking for damage, I hope?" Haku said.

"No."

"We couldn't harm it if we tried."

"I know."

"Why's that?" Captain America asked, strapping a circular, red white and blue shield to his arm. He wore a Colt .45 revolver at his hip.

"Because," Carin replied, "It's made of—"

Carin was cut off by a deep, half-growl, half-yell as Master Chief grabbed Haku by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him three feet off the floor. Everyone stood dead still, unsure if they should – and _could_ – stop the Chief.

"No, Atemu!" Haku shouted as the Pharaoh reached for his deck.

"Where is she?" the SPARTAN bellowed through grit teeth.

"Where is who—"

"You know exactly who! My A.I.! She was in my helmet, and now she's gone! Cort-"

"Atemu! She is in the arsenal, in the padded wooden box! And get a holopad!" Haku cried, pointing across the hall.

After a second of hesitation, the Pharaoh raced to the room opposite, returning a few anxious moments later with a circular piece of machinery and what looked like some kind of microchip.

The Chief, by this time, had just composed himself enough to at least set Haku down, relieving some of the tension in the room.

"I assure you," Atemu said, holding out the chip, "She's not been harm—"

The Master Chief whipped it out of his hand, also taking the holopad. He inserted the chip into one of the drives and waited rigidly.

After a moment that seemed to last an age to him, a hologram appeared on the pad. It was the image of a short-haired woman, seven inches tall or so, purple in colour and made up of constantly-moving numbers and lines of data. He held it carefully to his face. "Cortana?" he said softly.

The figure, who had been laying down, jumped to its feet. "Chief!" She whirled around, taking in every face, weapon, wall – every piece of data she could. "Where are we Chief?"

"You're all right, then?" he said, very quietly, so that only she could hear.

She turned to him with a knowing smile. "Worried about me? Yeah, I'm fine Chief. Where's your armor?"

He gestured behind him with a shake of his head. "Over there."

"Where are we?" Cortana repeated. "Who are all these people?"

"We're in a place called the Realm. Some…_guy_—" He had been about to say _lunatic_—"brought us all here to fight our enemies."

"Why?"

"Personal amusement."

"That's sick." Cortana said, facing him and putting a hand on her hip.

"Yeah."

"So, your enemies, huh?"

The Chief nodded.

"You're gonna have a lot of fighting to do then." She said with a half-smirk.

"Fine with me." His voice had returned to its normal husky calmness.

"So…" She said turning around to face the others again. "You gonna introduce me?"

Master Chief introduced Cortana to the other warriors, Haku and Atemu, then let her explain herself that she was an A.I. that worked through his armor.

"Hey, didn't you mention A.I.s before?" Goku asked, turning to the Marine.

He nodded.

"Were they like me?" Cortana asked.

The Marine set his jaw and nodded. "Yeah, just like you."

Master Chief heard that subtle ache again in the Marine's voice and decided to change the subject. "What kind of armor were you issued with, Marine?"

"It's mostly cybernetic…made of a thinner, flexible form of the MJOLNIR armor. It still has the personal shield, like yours. Is yours Mark V?"

"Mark VI."

"Ah." He surveyed the thick green armor as Master Chief inspected it for serious damage; it was pocked with bullet holes and blackened with gunpowder. They traded helmets for a moment; both were about the same size, both had a golden-orange reflective visor, and both had certain technologies that allowed them to monitor enemy movement and their shield percentage. But whereas the Master Chief's helmet encompassed his entire head, the Marine's left the mouth exposed. The larger visor of the Marine's helmet allowed for greater peripheral vision than the Master Chief's, and was equipped with more advanced tracking and monitoring systems.

As they swapped back their helmets and began to put their armor, they were distracted by a low mechanized hum.

They both turned, standing, to see a tall figure in red, orange and yellow armor. The shoulders of suit were thickly armored spheres, and these led down to the arms, one of which did not end in a hand, but a long, wide-barreled gun. It was this green-coloured weapon that was making the hum as it charged.

The Marine glanced around the room, trying to figure out who was in the armor, but the Master Chief beat him to it. "Samus?"

The triangular-like green visor turned to the marines, shimmering briefly in the light. "Yes?" came her voice, slightly muffled.

The soldiers couldn't help but stare, but the Marine finally managed, "Nice armor."

"Thanks," she replied, "You too."

Cortana held back giggles. "Are you blushing, Chief?" she whispered.

"What?" He said gruffly. "No." But he jammed his helmet on in a hurry. He then removed Cortana from her holopad and jammed her into one of the drives in the back of his helmet. The drive closed automatically, shielded, after he had inserted it. Had one of the other warriors looked more closely at the back of the Master Chief's head, they would have noticed that there were thin slots in his skin that corresponded to those in his helmet. In fact, he was not putting Cortana into his helmet but into his head…so in a way, they were connected.

"_I think you like her,"_ Cortana's voice came inside of his head, a warm, smirking tone.

"I do not." He said shortly. "Are all systems online?"

She giggled once, then made a noise like she was clearing her throat, if she had one. _"Monitoring…oxygen levels, check. Blood pressure…heart rate…normal. Body temperature, normal…Respiratory functions—"_

"I'm breathing fine, Cortana."

"—_normal. I don't care, Chief. I'm checking anyway."_ He'd go to his last breath in a battle, if it were up to him. If she didn't look after him, who would?_ "I'm putting up your radar and shield percentage levels."_ Came her voice again, very matter-of-factly.

With a slight flicker, a circular icon appeared in the lower left hand corner of his HUD, a ring pulsating from the center outwards every second. This icon rotating around it and the pulsing rings showed nothing in its sweep, for now. A bar, directly above the radar showed him that his built-in shield was now almost complete.

"_All clear?"_

He nodded, then as he pulled on his last glove, "Mark the others as allies on my radar."

"_Sure thing."_

He felt her making adjustments in his head, slight whispery touches. Suddenly, nineteen yellow dots appeared, most of them very close together so it looked like a large yellow blob on his radar.

"_All right?"_

He nodded again.

"_Good…so….did you miss me, Chief?" _she asked, her voice now quiet in his head as if she didn't want to be overheard.

His mouth twitched beneath his helmet in a rare smile. "Nah."

But Cortana knew better and smiled, releasing a kind of rosy warmness into his head.

"Where are our weapons?" the Marine asked, diverting the Chief's attention.

_Oh yeah,_ the SPARTAN thought. He'd been too preoccupied with finding Cortana and inspecting his armor that he'd nearly forgotten about his weapons.

"I ain't found my guns neither," Jonah Hex said, sidling up to Atemu. "Would yeh mind tellin' me where they are?" He added edgily, his eye bulging under the darkness of his cowboy hat.

"We stored the guns in the arsenal," the pharaoh said, looking at the Master Chief and the Marine, "Because you had too many to store in this room. This way."

"Lieutenant Ripley," Haku said, "You will also find your weapons there."

The woman followed Hex and the marines across the hall.

As Atemu entered, the room was illuminated. "Marines, all of these weapons are at your disposal."

The Marine and Master Chief looked at one another, that rare smile forming once again.

Before them lay shelves upon shelves, racks, crates and bins of guns and ammunition.

It was like a candy store for the Chief. Most of the weapons he recognized; he and the Marine both went for the shotguns first.

The Marine's shotguns were much different than the Chief's; they were double-barreled and looked as if they'd been sawed down. The way he held them enabled him to dual-wield a pair. He slid a couple of shells into the barrel of one and swung it in an arc. A satisfying click told them that it was ready to fire.

The Master Chief fought a twinge of jealousy; he wished _he_ could dual-wield shotguns. But the green streak didn't last long – as he swung his own shotgun onto the magnetic plate on his back, sliding the extra ammo into the hidden compartment on his thigh-plate, his gaze fell upon a series of crates.

"You getting all this Cortana?" he asked quietly.

"_You bet, Chief. I almost have the place mapped out." _Ever since they had stepped into the room, the A.I. had been busy gathering data on every single piece of weaponry in the place, how many of each type there were, and where everything was positioned. _"What's in those – ooh."_

His sentiments exactly. Before him in the crates were all the grenades he could ever want.

Fragmentation grenades, plasma grenades, and other kinds he'd never seen. He picked up one of these – a gigantic, rod-like grenade with spines all over it.

"That's a spike grenade," The Marine said, coming over to stand by him. "Brutes used them, if I'm right."

"What's that?" Chief asked, pointing to a large, pod-like object. Its four metallic legs supported a glowing, multi-sided generator.

Cortana let out an excited "_Ooh!"_

"You know?"

"It's a bubble shield, Chief! I've heard some talk about those, but I didn't think they were complete yet…."

"Bubble shield?" Master Chief echoed.

"What year did you say you were from?" The Marine asked.

"I didn't. But I'm from the year 2552."

"It should be available to you soon."

"You know your history."

"I know my weapons."

While the marines were discussing weapons and different kinds of military tactics, Atemu had located Ripley's and Hex's weapons.

"Here you are," Atemu said, "The pulse rifle for Lieutenant Ripley – the flamethrower behind you is also available."

Ripley took the pulse rifle and glanced behind her, where on the shelf lay a large flamethrower – a weapon that she was all too familiar with. _Just what enemies am I going to be facing, anyway?_

"Hex, here are your pistols. Ivory handled, .44 caliber Colt dragoon models, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not." Hex buckled the worn leather holster around his middle, running his scarred fingers over the ivory. "Ah also had a knife, a rifle and a sabre."

"Behind you."

The cowboy took the rifle and cocked it open to see down the barrels. "No damage."

"We did not tamper with your belongings."

He closed the rifle again with an ominous click. "Yeh better not have." After placing the rifle back on the shelf and sliding his Bowie knife into his boot, he headed back to the armory.

Ripley swung the pulse rifle over her shoulder and followed him.

Back in the armory, everyone was settled into their uniforms and were content that their weapons had not been harmed.

"You spoke earlier about the River Styx," Batman commented to Carin.

The others near them fell silent.

"Yes," she said, turning to face him. She saw that he was now wearing a black mask of a material she did not recognize and a long black cape. The mask was horned and covered his face except for the mouth area and slits for his eyes. _So that is why you are called Bat-man._ "What of the River Styx?"

"I wasn't aware that it had any real power."

"Why wouldn't it?" Carin asked, somewhat surprised.

"In our world, the River Styx was only part of mythology."

"I remember learning about that in school," David said. "What kind of power did it have?"

"The River Styx was said to have the authority to keep even gods from breaking a promise. An oath on the river was binding." Batman answered.

"So what you did…I mean, it's real?" David asked, turning to Carin.

"Yes, the promise cannot be broken."

"That means that our friends and family are safe. Completely safe from harm, while we're here." Trunks said.

"Yes." Carin nodded, and she watched the relief spread over the half-Saiyan's face.

"That makes me feel a little better."

"About Bulma?" Goku asked.

"Yeah."

"Bulma?"

"My mother. She's – she's the only one I have left."

The room fell silent for a moment as each warrior thought about those they had left behind. It was broken by Hikaru, who went up to Haku and said, "Excuse me."

"Yes, Ms. Shidou."

"You can call me Hikaru. Everyone does."

Haku smiled. "Of course. How may I help you?"

"I couldn't find my weapons."

"Oh yes…." A very slight line creased Haku's forehead, casting a worried veil over his young face. "When we took you from your world, the weapons disappeared. All of your belongings – your armor, everything – vanished. I'm afraid that you must summon them yourself. I believe that only _you_ can."

"Oh." Hikaru nodded. "Okay, thank you for telling me. I'll figure it out…I'm sure they'll come to me again."

Carin looked at the girl curiously. _This little girl is the ruler of a world, a warrior…she is so strong – wise, confident, yet humble. I wonder what she can mean by "they'll come to me again." They? She speaks of her weapons as if they live…living weapons, is it possible?_

Carin's thoughts were broken as the Master Chief and Marine returned, armed to the teeth and followed by Atemu.

"Now that everyone is situated, let me show you your rooms…" Haku led them back across the hall, where two of the other solid rooms comprised their bedrooms. There was one smaller room for the four females and a much larger room for the sixteen males.

These rooms were infinitely more comfortable and accommodating than the room they had been held captive in.

The beds were plain but comfortable with clean sheets and blankets; there were two showers and bathrooms, a place with mats for stretching, a table, a basin of water and even plants in each room to make them more hospitable.

"What's in that room?" Luke Skywalker asked as they returned again to the main hall. He pointed to the fourth and final solid room.

"The infirmary," Haku said. "I hope none of you may see the inside of it," he added quietly, mostly to himself.

"I suggest you train and rest…you will have the next three days to train yourselves, and then the tournament will begin." Atemu said.

The others looked at one another, wondering what this tournament would hold.

"You called for me, my lord?"

"**Yes. What is your progress?"**

"All twenty of them are present and accounted for, sir. Everything has been explained to them."

"**And where are they at present?"**

"They have just been given their weapons and have been allowed three days to train—"

"**Three days? I grow weary of this waiting."**

"I'm sorry, sir – I only thought it was—"

"**No matter. So be it…let them be at ease before the real trials begin!"**

_A/N: I own nothing except Carin Darkstar!  
_

Goku, Trunks (c) Akira Toriyama's Dragonball Z  
Carin (c) Silvre (Karyn N. Anderson) -- mine!!  
Batman, Superman and Jonah Hex (c) DC Comics  
John Connor (c) The Terminator movie series  
Ripley and pulse rifle(c) 20th Century Fox's "Alien" movies  
The Marine, The Master Chief, Cortana and all related weapons (c) Bungie  
Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Logan (Wolverine) (c) Marvel Comics  
Samus Aran (c) Nintendo's Metroid  
Necro and Alex (c) CAPCOM's Street Fighter  
Goliath (c) Disney's Gargoyles  
Hikaru (c) CLAMP's Magic Knight Rayearth  
Harry Potter (c) J.K. Rowling  
David Carter (c) Dreamworks' "Invasion America"  
Luke Skywalker (c) LucasFilm's "Star Wars"  
Raiden, Scorpion, Subzero, Johnny Cage, Smoke and all ninjas (c) Midway's "Mortal Kombat"  
Kohaku/Haku (c) Miyazaki's "Spirited Away"  
Pharaoh Atemu, Dark Magicians and all related characters (c) Kasuki Takahashi  
Dungeon Master (c) TSR and Marvel Productions

Thy Dungeon Man (c) Videlectrix ()


	10. Thy Dungeon Man PT 5

Chapter Two: Thy Dungeon Man

Part Five

He bent under the shadow of a ruined army vehicle. What kind of vehicle it was, he wasn't sure – it had been burned and shot beyond recognition.

He held his night-vision binoculars to his eyes, surveying the immediate area, then waved his hand in an "all clear" sign.

Four troops, crouching low in the darkness ran to him two at a time. "Alright," he whispered. "One more stretch and we're home. Henderson, Smith, you lead. Reese, Hicks and I will meet you at that building. From there, we'll go straight to the tunnel. Understood?"

"Yes sir," the others answered, saluting.

"Alright. Weapons at the ready." He took another look through the binoculars. "Okay, go."

Henderson and Smith, holding their machine guns tight to their shoulders, made their way across the blackened, rubble-strewn earth to the crumbled remains of an office building.

Looking through the binoculars again, he saw Smith give her signal. Pushing young Hicks out first, he and Reese followed, taking the same path as their comrades, quiet and cautious.

"Hurry!" Reese hissed behind him.

He looked ahead and saw Henderson making urgent gestures.

With a last sprint of energy, they all fell in a silent collective heap behind the wall of rubble.

They laid on their stomachs, guns ready, peering through a long thin crack in the wall.

This crack gave them a view of the ground and to their horror, they saw the white bone of a human skull and vertebrae on the dead earth.

He saw Hicks close his eyes for a moment and swallow. He placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder, and Hicks looked up at him.

He would have smiled to reassure the young soldier, but instead he involuntarily tightened his grip.

By the intensity of the other soldiers, he knew they had also heard it.

And now the sound came again. A cold, heavy chink.

Suddenly a metallic-boned foot came into view through the crack, and then with a derisive crunch, the other foot came down on the skull, shattering it. He and the other four lay dead-still, barely daring to breathe as the feet moved on.

A low powerful rumbling came now, and he knew it was an HK-Tank. A Hunter Killer Tank.

That's all the machines did. Hunt and kill. Humans were just an inefficient, illogical race that needed to be exterminated. He shook his head slightly. _Not now. Don't lose your head now._ He glanced over his shoulder. There, in that pile of broken stone slabs, lay one of the entrances to the tunnel that led to their secret underground base. The machines hadn't found it yet.

The grumbling of the tank was growing louder. The area in front of them was suddenly illuminated – the tank must have just rounded a corner.

He nudged Henderson, who prodded Smith. He caught Hicks and Reese's attention, then held up one finger. He pointed to himself, then gestured to the tunnel. He then held up two fingers, pointed at Hicks, at the tunnel. Reese was third, Smith fourth and Henderson fifth.

The others nodded to show understanding, and slowly, quietly moved into a position to run.

All the while, the tank was coming closer. It grew louder and louder until with an almighty roar, it rumbled past them.

He dropped his hand from its upright position, then bolted, running low for the tunnel.

He heard Hicks behind him, Reese, Smith and Henderson.

The stone slabs were in his sight. 10 more yards.

6 more yards.

3 more yards!

A sudden explosion and a high-pitched shriek caused him to look behind.

Smith was falling, her left arm now completely gone.

Henderson was yelling, striving to catch her, spinning and firing his gun for all he was worth.

He'd reached the tunnel. He knocked the secret code on the lead door and it opened to reveal another troop.

Seizing Hicks' collar, he hurled the boy inside, then turned again. "Come on, Reese!"

Reese dove into the tunnel.

"Henderson! Smith! You can make—" He began to yell.

Blinding lights flooded his vision. A spotlight from above fell on Henderson and the wounded Smith. He heard the deadly whine and rat-tat of machine guns from the helicopter above them and –

"NO!" He screamed.

John Connor awoke, gasping and drenched in cold sweat. He glanced around and realized where he was. _Calm down, John. It was a nightmare…just a nightmare…._ He told himself that it was just a dream, but it wasn't true. His _life_ was a nightmare. An unending nightmare filled with unfeeling cyborgs that only brought destruction and death.

He ran his fingers through his hair and looked around the room.

The fifteen other beds held his sleeping comrades. Across the room, David Carter turned over, dragging his covers with him. Two of the beds were empty.

The door of the large bedroom was open very slightly, letting the light from the hallway drift in.

Pushing the covers aside, John slipped out of bed, pulling his military jacket on. After washing his face, he exited the room, leaving its sleepers behind.

"Good morning, Colonel Connor," Haku said when he reached the dining room.

This room was different than the first they had eaten in – it contained a large round table, a refrigerator, stove, oven and sink and, like almost all the others, it was transparently-walled.

"Would you like some breakfast?"

"Coffee. Black."

Haku caused it to appear in front of him as he sat at the table, then asked, "Would you like some toast and an egg?"

"Alright." Once it appeared, he nibbled on the toast. "…thanks."

"You're welcome."

He took another small bite of toast, the images from his dream still fresh in his mind. He swallowed, then dropped the rest of the toast back on his plate. He didn't even touch the egg. "…sorry, I guess I'm not so hungry after all."

Haku nodded and with a wave of his hand, caused the food to vanish. "Are you alright, Colonel Connor?"

John ran his hand over the stubble on his chin, then looked across the table at the youth. He sighed. "No."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You can send me home."

Haku's face fell. "I'm sorry, I can't."

"I know." He sighed again. "How old are you, Haku?" he asked after a moment.

The River Spirit seemed surprised by the question. He lowered his eyes in thought.

"I'm…I'm not sure. Well over one hundred, I think. Although I feel – and appear – much younger."

"What about the Pharaoh?"

"The Pharaoh is thousands of years old, but -- " He suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

"But what?" John asked, setting down his coffee cup.

"Nothing. Never mind." Haku said, looking away.

John nodded slowly, then sipped at his coffee. "So…who's awake besides me? I know at least two others are up."

"The two marines are awake and are in the shooting range, I believe. Carin Darkstar is also awake. She is in the Dome room."

"Dome room?"

"A Dome is a training facility from her world. It has certain qualities that make it ideal for any training situation…but she can explain it better than I can."

"Alright." He set down his empty cup. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Of course."

John left the room, then went to the armory to retrieve one of his guns. He thought he might join the marines for some target practice. After slinging his gun over his shoulder and packing his pockets with ammunition, he made his way to the shooting range.

On the way, he passed Carin in the Dome. When he saw what she was doing, he stopped in his tracks to watch.

Her sword was more like an extension of her body than a weapon. She twirled, ran, sliced, jabbed, jumped – but every movement was easy and fluid, as if it took no effort whatsoever.

But her face betrayed her movements. It held a look of pure concentration and determination, sometimes morphing into a face that held a deep anger.

He tore himself away from the scene. If he kept watching, he'd have no time to train himself. And he needed to – for whatever lay in store.

He stopped at the door of the shooting range, where the marines were firing round after round of fantastic weapons, the likes of which he'd never seen. The room was completely sound proof, for he couldn't hear a thing.

Cortana was reclined lazily on a table which held her holopad and several pairs of ear protectors. She was watching the Chief and the Marine, looking from one to the other as if comparing them.

John saw her spot him, and she waved. She then stood and yelled, but to no avail. She waited until there was a break in the shooting, then yelled again. Master Chief and the Marine turned to her, then to the door.

John entered, closing the door behind him. "Mind if I join you?"

"Nope," Master Chief answered.

The Marine shook his head and threw him a pair of ear protectors.

"How long have you two –"

"Three!" Cortana chimed in, hands on hips.

"Sorry. How long have you _three_ been up?"

"For about two hours," Cortana said. She nodded at the marines. "The guys went running before coming here. Carin Darkstar was awake before us."

"Wow. Did you watch her? I've never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I," the Marine said, reloading his assault rifle. "And that's saying something."

- - -

Carin was falling into her usual routine. Back in the Alvarunus universe she was up every morning, practicing with _Ventaaia_, her sword, before the others were awake.

With each session, she strove to be faster, stronger and more accurate. More like her father, a great swordsman before her.

Each turn, each parry, each thrust, each stab was for him. For her mother. For Rek, for her children, for her family.

The thought of them propelled her faster, until the sword was a blur swinging within a hairs breadth of her skin. As the hours went on, she was aware of the warriors who stopped by and watched her, but she ignored their presence.

Once she felt she had gotten up to speed and was comfortable with the results, she went into the antechamber of the Dome to set her surroundings to greater gravitational pull.

The Dome's mechanisms allowed her to change the weather, terrain, gravity and even allowed her to choose any opponent she wanted to face. Everything in the Dome was virtual, but felt so real that back at home she often ended up in the infirmary.

_Don't push yourself too hard, Carin," _she thought to herself. _"You cannot be wounded or bed ridden for the days ahead. Who knows what or who you will be fighting?_

* * *

The punching bag rocked from side to side as Alex slammed his fist into it. The heavy red bag flew back at him, and he landed another solid punch, smiling in satisfaction.

The day or so that he had been held in that room with the other warriors marked the longest time in a few years that he hadn't gone to the gym. He was there at least for a little while every day. He spent a lot of his time there, training members at the fitness club, and just working out.

He let out a breath, happy to feel the slight strain on his back and shoulders. He then dodged the incoming punching bag to grab his towel.

As he mopped his face and neck, his thoughts suddenly fell on Tom and Pat – his master and his master's daughter. He hoped they weren't too worried about him and, quietly, secretly, hoped he'd make it through this tournament to see them again.

He held the bag steady as thoughts flooded his mind -- how strange this whole situation was, speculation on which he might face in the tournament….

_Enemies,_ he thought. _Which enemies do I have? Think, Alex. Who hates your guts? Who has a reason to come after you? _He tossed the towel aside and a thought struck him. _It couldn't be _him_, could it—_

His thoughts were broken and he jumped back in surprise as the punching bag rocketed towards him.

"Necro!" He shouted as he saw the elongated, chalk-white fist hovering near the punching bag.

Illia cackled from the doorway and allowed his outstretched arm to snake back from the punching back to its regular position and length.

"You…you freak!" Alex laughed, turning to him.

Necro laughed again, for he knew Alex meant it good-naturedly. He took up his strange, loose fighting stance, and in response Alex took on his grappling stance, flexing his fingers.

"Freak _this!" _shouted Necro, and spinning, let his arm fly towards Alex.

The elasticity of Necro's limbs amazed Alex, as the arm catapulted the full length of the room.

Alex dropped into a hunched position to avoid the blow. He then ran forward, yelling.

In response, Necro's arm shot back into its normal position and he came towards Alex in a whirlwind fashion, spinning his entire body in full circles, arms swinging.

One of the arms clipped the side of Alex's head, but he dodged the other punches. When the time was right, he threw himself completely into Necro's chest, shoulder first.

He felt the rubbery skin of his opponent take in the full impact, and the Russian fighter staggered backward. But he found his composure quickly and, bending, flung his _elbow_ forward, stretching it until it made contact with Alex's chin.

Alex fell flat on his back and instantly rolled to avoid Necro's foot. Leaping to his feet, Alex grabbed one of Necro's suspenders and pulled his opponent towards him. He then reared his head back and slammed his forehead into Necro's.

The Russian's arms wound around his head and he curled into a ball, cursing.

Alex rubbed his own head. "Ow." When Necro stayed in that crouched position for a few more moments, Alex said, "Hey. I didn't mean to hit you so hard. Are you all ri—"

"_Magnetic Storm!"_ Necro suddenly shrieked, and Alex leapt backwards as electricity began to accumulate on his opponent's skin. Necro raised his head, and his eyes seemed to glow a brighter yellow than normal. The electricity crackled and grew in intensity, and the room's lights began to flicker above them.

Then all at once, Alex had the sensation of being drawn towards Necro against his will – as if magnetized towards him! The electric bands running all over Necro's body reached towards him, threatening to wrap around him.

"Whoa!" Alex yelped and jumped back, only to be drawn in again. He held up his hands and tried to back away. "Okay, okay! You win! I give!"

This seemed to shake Necro out of his sudden temper and the electricity instantly dwindled.

Alex, relieved, collapsed onto the floor. "Geez. If I knew my head butt was gonna make you that mad, I wouldn't have done it."

Necro frowned and also sat, a few feet from Alex. "…sorry," he said sheepishly after a few minutes. "I was distracted. I…I was thinking about Effie," he added quietly.

Alex nodded, lowering his eyes. A few more quiet minutes passed between them before he said, "Is she your girlfriend?"

Necro nodded, his head sinking even more between his already-hunched shoulders.

"I'm sure she's fine," Alex said encouragingly. "Don't worry, Necro. We'll all get back home."


	11. Thy Dungeon Man PT 6

Chapter Two: Thy Dungeon Man

Part Six

Hikaru walked down one of the hallways the next day, having just finished a late lunch.

Her shoulders slumped a little. While the others were training, she had nothing to do. Tomorrow was the last day to train; she'd lain awake for hours the night before, trying to think of ways to regain her powers she had on Cephiro. She didn't know why they had disappeared, taking her weapons also.

Her thoughts strayed to Cephiro. Was it crumbing, without her to support it? Were Umi and Fuu worrying? And the rest of her friends? She didn't like them to worry about her. A small smile stole across her face at something Umi and Fuu had told her once….

Umi, with her long blue hair and pretty face, and Fuu with her golden curls and kind eyes stole into her minds eye. She could nearly hear Umi's voice: _"You're the most reckless of all of us, and you never complain when you're hurt or tired. You're too busy taking care of everyone else…."_

Her face fell, and she felt tears pricking at her eyes. She missed them dearly. The warriors were very kind and protective of her, as adults would be, but they didn't know much about her. They hadn't been through what she, Umi and Fuu had together...

She stopped at an intersection of the hallways, and saw someone training alone in a room on the right. Turning this way, she stopped outside the room. It was Luke Skywalker, the warrior she knew the least about.

He wore a half-dome-shaped helmet on his head, but the visor on it was down and covered his eyes completely. He held a cylindrical mechanism in his hand, which was about ten inches long or so.

A movement above him attracted her attention. An orb-like object floated in the air there, light grey in colour with holes on its many faces. It turned this way and that, floating lazily in the air above Luke.

Hikaru watched in fascination as he loosened his shoulders and spread his feet, then held his silver cylindrical device tightly in both hands. Suddenly a shaft of light, a bright green, shot forth from the cylinder, emanating a distinct humming noise.

The moment this light-sword appeared, the floating orb spun faster and more randomly, flying now more than floating.

Out of the holes on the orb flew what looked like lasers at Luke, but with graceful sweeps of his weapon, he deflected the shots.

_Wow,_ Hikaru thought. _I don't think _I'd_ be able to deflect missiles with my eyes closed._ She folded her legs underneath her and sat there in the hallway, watching.

The light saber twirled easily in Luke Skywalker's hands. Though he could not see the Marksman-H Combat remote, he could feel its presence through the Force. He let the Force guide his arms and feet, and distantly heard a second and third remote appear out of the machine that released them.

Now all three of the remotes were firing at him, but he was deflecting all of their lasers. He heard and felt them ricochet off his weapon as he spun. He swept his light saber in a fast arc, now in a slower, smaller arc, then in a fast sharp motion as more shots fired.

Captain America and Logan were heading towards another training room when they rounded a corner and almost tripped over Hikaru.

"Oops, sorry," she said, getting to her feet.

"No problem kid," Logan said. "What're you doin' down there?"

"Watching Luke," she said, pointing.

"What kind of weapon is that?" Captain America asked, peering into the room.

"Dunno," Logan replied. "Looks pretty fancy. I think I'll stick to old fashioned weapons." Hardening his fist, the three metal claws punctured the skin near his knuckles and slid into view.

"Were you born with those?" Hikaru asked quietly.

"No kid." He allowed the claws to slide back under his skin. "Some _scientists_ thought it'd be a riot to lace my bones with this stuff."

Her hands flew to her mouth. "I'm so sorry."

Logan shrugged. "Not your fault, kid. They come in handy sometimes."

"Do they hurt?"

"Yeah. But I heal so fast that it doesn't bother me much. Now, why aren't you trainin' like everybody else?"

"I can't. My weapons and armor disappeared when they brought me here. I have to figure out how to get them back by myself."

"How're you going to do that – _whoa!_" Captain America gripped the wall as the floor suddenly shook.

"What the—" Logan shouted, steadying Hikaru.

"What was that?" Luke asked, running out of the training room, light saber in hand. He shook his blond hair from his eyes as he tore off his helmet.

"I don't know. Whoa, hold on to something!" the Captain shouted as the floor trembled, then lurched violently.

Heavy footsteps sounded, and the purple, winged form of Goliath came around the corner. "Where is that coming from?"

The others shook their heads, unknowing.

"Whoa!" Hikaru nearly toppled backwards as the hallway gave another violent shake, but Goliath caught her, flaring his wings to steady himself.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Thank you."

"Come on, let's try to figure out where that's coming from." Captain America said.

"Do you think it's an earthquake?" Hikaru asked.

"I don't think so. It seems too erratic."

As they headed down the hall, sometimes using the walls for support, they encountered Necro, Alex, the Marines, John Connor, Samus, Ripley, Jonah Hex and finally Carin, coming out of her training room.

"It's coming from further down the hallway," Carin said. "Whatever it is, it's powerful -- I could feel it through the Dome. The Domes usually block out outside activity."

As they went farther and then turned left, they saw Batman, Superman, Harry and David gathered around a metallic door. The door led into another transparent room, but this room had a tiled floor and a large cylindrical machine in the center.

In this room were Goku and Trunks. They were in the air, hovering some eight feet off the ground and twenty feet apart.

Both were breathing heavily; Trunks raised a hand to wipe some blood from his lip.

Carin looked them over in concern. Had they argued? They'd been fighting, that much was obvious. _Wait,_ she realized. _They're not fighting. They're sparring. They've been training against one another._

"Come on, Trunks," Goku was saying, "Gimme your best shot."

"Alright," he said. "You asked for it." Suddenly he was gone – a few of the warriors cried out in surprise – and then he had reappeared directly in front of Goku, landing a punch so powerful in the Saiyan's jaw that it sent him flying.

As he collided with the opposite wall, a great tremor ran through the complex, causing Hikaru and a few others to stumble and fall.

"A blow like that would kill a human," Superman whispered.

But Goku just cracked his neck and grinned. "Okay, Trunks. The gloves are coming off." He got to his feet, and Trunks drifted to the ground.

The black-haired Saiyan stood firmly, feet shoulder width apart, hands in fists at his sides.

Trunks followed suit, and as their fellow warriors watched, the two underwent a shocking transformation.

Instead of Goku's black eyes and Trunks' baby blues, their irises turned a solid, glowing turquoise. Their hair suddenly took on a brilliant gold tint and they were enveloped in faint pulsating gold auras.

The emanating power was incredible. Even with the transparent walls of the room separating the Saiyans from the rest of the warriors, the latter could feel the strange heat and sensation that caused goosebumps to form on their skin.

And the transformation didn't end there. Goku and Trunks raised their voices, yelling to help release the energy trapped within. Their hair became an even more shocking shade of gold, their eyes flashing.

The floor began to tremble again; as it grew more violent, the machine in the Saiyans' room began to sway.

Soon the warriors in the hallway were holding onto the walls and each other, fighting to keep their balance.

Superman took to the air, Hikaru in his arms; Goliath had planted the claws of his hands and feet firmly into the floor, flaring his wings from time to time. The only ones who seemed remotely stable were the Master Chief and the Marine in their heavy MJOLNIR armor.

Rushing footsteps caused them to turn – Haku and the Pharaoh careened around the corner only to come to a dead halt. Despite their various magical abilities, the warriors could tell from their shocked faces that they'd never seen anything like this before.

As the Saiyans' power continued to build, a horrible sound rent the air.

It was a sharp, crunching sort of noise, and as the warriors looked for the source, David spotted it. "The wall's cracking!"

A spidery crack was forming on the transparent wall of the Saiyans' room. Any moment, it would burst, sending sharp fragments flying in all directions.

Haku pushed his way to the front of the crowd of warriors, waving frantically to get the Saiyans' attention. It took more than that, however – it wasn't until a whole group of the warriors began to yell and wave their arms that Goku and Trunks took notice and powered down.

- - -

That night, Carin was awoken from a sound sleep. She looked around the dark room and it didn't take long for her to realize that someone was missing.

"Hikaru?" she called softly. She folded back the blankets and stepped silently out of the room.

The hallway was half-lit while they slept, though it wasn't night-time. It was in fact the day, for Goliath turned to stone during sunlit hours and so the warriors had adjusted their sleeping schedules to accommodate this.

She looked around the dim corridor, searching for signs of the girl. Suddenly she heard her voice further down the hall.

Tiptoeing, Carin made her way towards Hikaru's voice. As she drew nearer, the light in the hallway became brighter and took on an orange tint. She vaguely wondered at this, but was more concerned at finding the girl.

She came to a T-shaped intersection of the hall, and turning to the right, received such a shock that she slipped backwards and fell, her mouth gaping open.

Hikaru was standing face to face with a strange, flaming creature easily five times her size.

It was wolf-like in appearance, with slanted scarlet eyes and a crackling mane of fire. A single gold horn, long and curved, protruded from its forehead. It stood surveying Hikaru, tilting its head from time to time, its fiery fox-like tail crackling and burning. It was about ten feet from the girl, and it suddenly began to move closer.

"_Hikaru!"_ Carin yelled and ran towards her. But as soon as she reached her, she slammed into something solid and fell backwards. She rubbed her head, but was instantly up again. She felt in front of her until she felt the solid something – it was an invisible wall that shimmered when she touched it. She made a fist and punched it. "Let me through!" she yelled. She pounded her fists against it, but to no avail. The creature was much closer to Hikaru now, little more than four feet away.

"HELP!" Carin screamed. "HELP! HIKARU!" She backed up and threw her weight against the invisible wall, but it still held firm.

Some of the other warriors – the Marine, Goku, Logan, John Connor and Ripley – came out of the bedrooms, rubbing their eyes.

"What's going on, Carin?"

"HELP ME!" She screamed at them. "HIKARU!"

Before she could blink, Goku was at her side. "Whoa!" he cried. He reared back and hit the wall with his fist. "Marine! Help me ram it!"

Goku and the Marine ran at the wall to try and break it down, but it didn't budge. As they tried it a second time, it turned a bright red and the two leapt back.

"Ow! It's hot!" Goku said, patting his scorched shirt.

The Marine cursed, holding a burnt hand.

"I'll get help!" John Connor yelled at them, and went to the left down the hallway, towards the room near the kitchen where Haku and Atemu could often be found. He skidded to the right as he veered around the corner. A light was on in the room. "Help!" he cried.

Haku instantly appeared in the doorway, and with him the Pharaoh. Or was it? He was dressed in the Pharaoh's clothes, but was shorter and was looked much younger, with wide eyes.

Connor blinked once, and when he looked back, the Pharaoh as he knew him was standing there.

"What is it, Colonel Connor?"

Haku's voice shook him out of his momentary confusion. "It's Hikaru – there's some kind of monster in the hallway – come on!" Without another word, he raced back the way he had come, Atemu and Haku hard on his heels.

When they reached the hallway, more warriors were at the scene. Despite the heat of the invisible wall, Logan was wildly tearing at it with his metallic claws. But he was making no progress.

Suddenly several warriors cried out – as John Connor drew closer, he did as well. The creature was bending towards Hikaru, its mouth agape. To their surprise, instead of closing her in its jaws, it placed its tongue on her forehead.

At once Hikaru was wreathed in flame.

"_HIKARU!" _Carin screamed.

As they watched, the girl turned towards them in the midst of the fire. Her eyes widened in surprise and concern at seeing them there. The fire around her rapidly grew more wild and bright, and brighter still until they could no longer see her.

"Do something!" Ripley cried.

Haku and Atemu ran towards the invisible wall, but slid to a sudden halt as the fire suddenly vanished. The invisible wall also disappeared and with it, the creature.

All that was left was Hikaru, lying on the floor. Instead of the normal school uniform she usually wore, she was dressed in a flowing red cape and gold and scarlet armor.

"Hikaru?" Haku cried, and reached for her.

She stirred, and slowly sat up. She turned to face the group, and they saw that her head was adorned with a crown-like headpiece, resembling tongues of flame. She looked at her hands, which were now covered by thick white gloves, the left encrusted with a large round ruby.

"Hikaru! Are you hurt?" Carin asked, kneeling by her.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine." A wide smile broke across her features. "I got my magic back! I have my weapons and armor now!"

Carin sat back, stunned.

Ripley bent towards her. "So…so that monster didn't harm you?"

"No," she said softly. "Rayearth would never hurt me. I'm sorry I worried you," she added, looking around at the group. "I didn't know he was coming, or else I would have warned you."

"You _know_ that thing?" Logan asked.

"Rayearth. Yes. He's my Mashin."

"Your what?"

"He's called a Mashin – he's the source of my magic."

"You had us pretty worried, kiddo," Goku said, his shoulders sagging in relief.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to."

"Well, we're just glad you're alright," John Connor said.

"We should all get back to bed," Ripley said, fighting a yawn. "We need to be rested for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's our last day to train?" Hikaru asked Atemu.

The Pharaoh nodded. "Yes."

"We have to make tomorrow worth it. We need to do whatever we need to to be at our best strength," Goku said, taking on a more serious tone than Carin had ever seen him express. "We don't really know what we're up against." He turned from the group and began to walk back towards the bedrooms. "We have to be ready for anything."


End file.
